I woke up at 9 o’clock that Saturday morning. The same as I do every morning. I made a cup of coffee while checking the news on the TV. It was old technology. But it was what I grew up on and it reminded me of my youth. As I was taking my first sip of coffee, the sound of my doorbell ringing interrupted me.
“ Hey there Andrew!” said a young man at my doorstep. I stared at him. “Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten, your own birthday!”
“I wish I had,” I muttered under my breath.
“Come on man, it’s your 70th birthday. I’ve arranged for the rest of our family to come and celebrate with us.”
“Alright.”
“Sound more cheerful grandpa it’ll be fun.”
I let him in and collapsed on the couch sipping my coffee. The truth is that I did not like celebrating my birthdays much at all. They remind me of what I once had, who I once was, and the things I should have done. I once had a wife, she is now gone. I once had money, that left along with the wife. I was once an exciting man, traveling the world in search of new experiences, but I have since lost the will to do that. Perhaps the worst part is that I never had kids of my own. From when I was still young I had dreamed of having a child, watching him

Gao 2
grow up and later taking him with me on my travels. The closest I got to kids of my own were the children of my brother. The closest thing I will have to grandchildren are their children.
When it finally came time for guests to come I was ready to greet them with mock enthusiasm. First to arrive was my nephew along with his wife.
“Hello, Andrew, it's been awhile hasn’t it,” he said.
“Indeed,” I said.
“Sorry I missed your 60th birthday, I was at my son’s wedding.”
“No problem at all,” I said forcing a smile. “Has your son joined us here today.”
“No, he’s off traveling with his wife. You know how those kids are,” he said with a chuckle.
“Yep.”
I missed what it was like to be young. Being able to go on a trip to an exotic destination at a moment's notice. Now, in my old age, even visiting my brother in the next state was a rare occasion. The fact that my nephew had a family of his own, with gray hairs starting to escape from his head, did not feel right. I remembered him as the young college student he once was, not the middle age man he now is.
Once all the guests had arrived we started to eat. The lack of younger people who had come dissapointed me. It was as if the younger generation had forgotten about me. Everyone only seemed to want to talk about their children and all the things their children had done. It seemed that we were now too old to have fun and experience the world. Everyone else had kids to do all that for them. Except me, for I did not have a single child of my own. It was as if I was living my worst nightmare. I had wanted to stay adventurous and outgoing my whole life. But I had lost all the fun in my life with the loss of my wife.
Gao 3
The day had started to wind down. People ran out of stories to tell about their children and finished all the food. Just when everyone was getting ready to leave, the doorbell rang.
“Hello” said the man at the door.
“I’m so glad you could make it!” my nephew said. “This is my son and this is his wife, I don't think you've met” he continued, looking between us.
“We delayed our road trip across America to greet you,” said my nephew’s son.
“Sounds like a lot of fun for you guys,” I said. “I wish I could still do things like that.”
“Why can’t you, we have extra space in our car and won’t mind taking you along”
“I’m too old for that.”
“Age shouldn’t stop you”
I thought about what he said for a moment and decided I had no response. I had believed that my good days were over and I was set to be a boring old man the rest of my life. Now that I have the chance to change that I had no reason to decline.
“You're right, it shouldn’t.”