Mike,
NG isn't sure what he wants. How to deal with this when it happens. He does say he is not competing in anyway, he knows he can't. He is not at all feeling he has to. Just unsure what we will do when it comes to birthday next year. His birthday was just two days ago. We celebrated over the weekend with a wonderful evening out. The actual day was Tuesday. I kept it lighthearted as I could. Seeing him briefly. I fell apart that evening after trying to push it out of my head all day. He called me in the middle of my breakdown, realizing what was happening. I didn't want to talk. I needed to go through it alone. He understood. The next day is when he expressed the concern. Again, I love the idea of not giving the day power. I too, think it's best to look at the day as a day of 'I made it through another year'. Thank you for that!