As many of you know, Valentine's Day was my birthday-- #77. And imagine my surprise to find that about 900 folks reached out to wish me a happy birthday. A few went old-school and sent birthday cards (which I was delighted to receive), and a couple of my more artistic students created hand-made (or hand-painted) cards to give me. My stepdaughter sent balloons and an adorable stuffed animal (a unicorn) for my collection, and my husband made duck with orange sauce-- to go along with the birthday cake we had for dessert.
But most of the well-wishers reached out to me on Twitter (I refuse to call it "X"), and Facebook, and Instagram, and Threads. Some just wished me a happy birthday, but others sent along personalized messages. I have to admit I didn't expect so many folks to be thinking of me, and knowing they did definitely put a smile on my face.
Okay fine, in some cases, the messages were automatic: if you follow me on social media, when it's time for my birthday (or anyone that you follow), you get a notification. But in a large number of the messages, the person had kind words to say about something positive that I had contributed to their life: there were former students I had mentored, friends that I had encouraged, people who read my articles or heard me on a podcast and thought my perspectives were inspiring, teachers whose classrooms received books or school supplies from me, and (of course) a large number of Rush fans who expressed their gratitude for my role in introducing Rush to the world.
Several of the people who reached out are folks I met when I was in college radio or former colleagues I worked with in the music industry decades ago; the fact that they have kept in touch for so long means a lot. Others are people I've only known for a relatively short time: for example, a few young female Rush fans wanted me to know they see me as a role model and a trailblazer. Interestingly, some folks who got in touch are people who didn't seem to like me very much years ago, but perhaps time has caused their opinion of me to improve.
I tried to get back to as many of the well-wishers as I could. But I also wanted to use this blog post to send my appreciation to everyone who took the time to let me know I was in their thoughts. This has been a difficult few months for me, what with finding out I'm losing my job, and confronting the reality that it may be difficult to find a new one because we are a youth-oriented culture and I'm now 77-- still young and cute, but 77. And yet, to everyone who got in touch, I was just Donna, their friend, someone they cared about, someone who deserved to be remembered on her special day.
To be honest, I find it hard to believe I'm worthy of that kind of adulation, but there it was-- more than 900 folks sending their love in my direction. So, if I have contributed to your life, if I have been a good friend or a good colleague or a role model or a motivational figure (or someone to play Wordle with), I'm glad. As Neil Peart said in The Garden (one of my favorite Rush songs), "The treasure of a life is a measure of love and respect." I've tried to be someone who treated others with love and respect. Thank you for giving me that treasure: the gift of knowing that on some level, I succeeded.
