A Birthday Thought

Today I turn 36 years old and although I complain about my age, I really do enjoy growing old as I could've died 14 years ago.  On August 25, 2016, I celebrated 14 years of life, a rebirth into this person I am today.  Thinking back over the 14 years as an individual with paraplegia, there were so many battles in life that I had to face.  Many battles won and lost, but I'm currently winning the war.  I'm living life to the fullest that I know how.

This past year has been the best year because of the twins.  They are about to be 10 months old on September 9th and Linh and I are still SHOCKED THAT WE HAVE TWINS!  This is my favorite part of getting older, I get to see Elliot and Evelyn grow up.  I tell them not to grow so fast, but we can't control that.  They are now crawling, furniture walking, and climbing.  Pretty soon they will both be walking all over the house whether we like it or not.  I'm still learning how to be a father, that will be ongoing for the rest of my life, but it is the my most favorite life event so far.  

Another accomplishment I did this year was finish two triathlons.  I first wanted to do one last year for the Oakland Triathlon Festival in 2015, but Linh was pregnant and I wanted to focus on her.  This year, we had a weight loss challange at work and while joking around with some co-workers about doing a triathlon, we ended up committing to it and competing in the Oakland Triathlon Festival on July 31, 2016.  We only had about 6 weeks of preparation and training, but we all finished.  Then I decided to do another one in two weeks, this time it was the Tri Santa Cruz which hosted the Para-Triathlon Championship, where there were over 50 athletes with disabilities, and about 15 athletes that raced in my classification as a wheelchair user.  This was an amazing experience and I was able to see how I ranked against some of the best para-triathletes in the nation.

This 36th year means another year that I am alive and more opportunity for my heart to get full of love, as I watch the twins grow up.  The best gift for my birthday today is my life and everything I that I enjoy and love.