My 62nd birthday

Before I’m accused of self-pity, I’m going to acknowledge straight up that my life is good. Better than many. I’m a fortunate person.

Given the problems of the larger world, my problems pale into insignificance.

As I write, Russian forces are in their 6th or 7th day (it does not matter which) of a brutal and completely unjustifiable attack on Ukraine. Through no fault of their own, Ukrainians (and, it has to be acknowledged, some innocent Russian soldiers) are dying. Property and dreams are being shattered, families broken, refugees created.

And for what purpose?

It is only going to get worse in the coming days and months.

My city, Brisbane (Australia) is flooding, more than 20 000 homes inundated at last count. We’ve had a reprieve from the rain for the past 24 hours, but more is forecast tomorrow. The storm system has moved south into NSW where the flooding is far worse than here. The whole east coast of Australia is having record breaking floods.

Ironically, this is the same geographical area that just two years ago had the worst droughts on records. This was inevitably followed by the worse bushfire season ever witnessed in my beautiful nation. Destruction and death, more dreams shattered.

And yet still we don’t seem to connect these ‘natural’ disasters to human enhanced climate change.

Our Prime Minister’s initial response to the bushfires was to take a family holiday to Hawaii, something he has not been allowed to forget since.

His government continues to harbor climate change deniers who stymy any serious attempt to be good global citizens when it comes to slowing down the pace of climate change.

Like the entire planet, we are just emerging from two years of Covid. My state avoided large out breaks for so long that we are only now experiencing the worst of it. Our peak was probably a few weeks ago, but it is still widespread. Most people are triple vaccinated, and we've all expected to get the virus regardless.

I digress. This is supposed to be about my 62nd birthday and how, although the day is not as I visualized from afar, my life is better than many.

Better than most, even.

Where am I at?

Like millions of others, I am Covid Positive. Finally.

I’m okay. I did well to hold out two years and being triple vaccinated has helped. I experienced uncomfortable symptoms – raging sore throat and coughing bouts – for the first 3 days but feel pretty good a few days further along. My wife has it too, of course, and is a few days behind me. So, when people message today and ask my plans for the big day, my reply is that we will isolate.

And that’s okay.

I’m alive and quite well. I’m sure Ukrainians (or a fellow Australian waiting to be rescued from the roof of his/her house) would be delighted to have my problems.

And there are people in my life who have messaged me this morning.

Some people have nobody to message them.

My backyard pool has flooded with chocolate brown water after torrential rain, and the pump has burnt out trying to deal with the sediment. Thousands of dollars of damage.

I can’t get onto insurance, or the pool maintenance people, to come and start resurrecting it all because others have bigger problems like the entire house going under water. The phones go to automated messages. The tenant in the rental house I own has not paid her rent on time again. I cannot do my contract work for 7 days while I isolate, therefore there is no income for that period as expenses mount up.

But that’s okay. I feel guilty getting frustrated by it. The fact that I have a backyard pool at all puts me into privileged company compared with many. My problems are ‘first world problems’ (and, yes, I’m aware that such categorizations are not as useful or PC as they once were).

It’s all a bit Catch-22, really. I need to notify the pool people about my pump to get it fixed but Covid prevents me from driving 5 minutes and telling them in person!

Therefore, nothing happens. It is officially a duck pond now.

The sum of my problems?

I’m 62 today. As the world explodes, burns, coughs, and floods around me, I have had some temporary setbacks financially and health wise. I have a beautiful partner and 4 adult children who messaged me earlier. A daughter dropped off a decent coffee and warm croissant earlier. I have a few friends and work colleagues that I like and who seem to like me.

The sun is peeking through today and it is not raining. We live next to a large forest with exercise tracks that I will eventually get back to.

Yes, it wasn’t supposed to be like this, and I remain concerned about the state of the world in recent years.

But I’m here still.

While I’m here there is always hope.

And I’m better off than most.