That was 24 birthdays ago, many of which Nick and I have celebrated together. The last two Decembers, though, he’s been on the other side of the planet in a tiny third-world village in Mali, and I’ve wondered when we’ll be in the same room for a birthday again.

Life, of course, is full of surprises. After finishing up with the Peace Corps and returning to the U.S., Nick has moved to Santa Fe and will be staying with us before heading off to med school next year. Kind of a rest stop between adventures.

When I was a kid, my grandparents, worried that I’d feel left out since my bro and sis both had summer birthdays, used to send me “half-birthday happies.” I’m thinking maybe it’s time to revisit that idea and do some summer celebrating. Happy Half-Birthday, Y’all!**

*Gotta chalk this one up to my mom, I realize now. The power of the positive pitch. Some people might think of a post-Christmas birthday as a pain: a day that gets lost in the holiday shuffle, a day for Christmas leftovers as birthday presents, an afterthought, etc. But not me. I grew up thinking of MY day as a reason for everybody to keep celebrating even after Christmas had passed. “The fun’s not over yet, people!”

**Yeah, yeah, I know that technically our half-birthday isn’t until next month. But with all of life’s uncertainties, why wait to celebrate?

Photos: 1) A birthday bagel shared across the miles when Nick was in Mali. (The photos were actually taken in the spring in Santa Fe, when he and I were  just across the table from one another. But it was fun to send him this as a birthday greeting last year when he was far, far away from anything remotely bagel-like.)  2) Birthday buddies in 1987.

So there’s this thing we say at our house first thing on the first day of a new month.”Rabbit!”

Not sure why, but it has to do with good luck. Also not sure where I heard this, or even when I started doing it. Hadn’t really wondered where it came from til today, so I looked it up. Good old Wikipedia.

Apparently, we’re not the only ones with this tradition.

Nick, my nephew who is in the Peace Corps in Mali, is particularly good at remembering to Rabbit. It’s been a little surreal to get Rabbit emails from him on those occasions when he’s been able to get to an internet cafe on some dirt road in some sleepy village in west Africa. These emails don’t necessarily arrive on the first of the month, but we’ll not get picky, considering the circumstances.

OK. Must get back to the March-April issue. Almost done.

So, rabbit, everybody! And happy February . . .

Photo is of our kitchen calendar, featuring art by Rodney White, an illustrator whose positive outlook and dry sense of humor (in addition to the style of his work—love those textures!) I particularly enjoy. His tongue-in-cheek sayings, painted into each work, often cause me to do a double-take. This one: “I’d rather be. . .”

There’s some gorgeous stuff on his site. Check it out.