Happy Birthday to our Darling Daughter!
In the olden days someone instigated the slogan Life Begins At Forty. (Maybe it was a book or a movie title.) It’s kind of nonsensical, of course, but maybe it was meant to put a positive spin on a birthday that could be a little depressing.
I looked at my 40th as a kind of turning point with a lot of new possibilities. I think the rabbis say that one should not begin to study kabbalah until the age of 40, and then with a competent guide. So far I’ve not been depressed by any of my birthdays. I always use the day to think about my many blessings and accomplishments, and lately, to think about what more I’d like to do in life.
So, Lisa, may this your 40th birthday, bring you some respite from the many stresses in your life and point to new avenues of accomplishment and fulfillment. For Dad and me you are everything we would ever have wanted in a daughter.”