"I missed my son's first birthday and that hurts a lot, " he said.

BBC: Tiger Woods targeting fifth Masters victory at Augusta

Indeed, when I was first elected for Yeovil in 1983, I promised myself that I would not do the job beyond my 60th birthday and would stand down no later than the first general election after that date.

BBC: Paddy Ashdown's letter of resignation

In our four years together, this was the first time he'd ever forgotten my birthday.

NPR: Excerpt: 'Between the Tides'

My first year on the job, we held a birthday party for one of our colleagues.

FORBES: One-Way Ticket: Why I Left Home to Launch a Career in Asia

Not that I'm necessarily equating the two in terms of literary merit, but I remember when I discovered "The Hardy Boys" in fifth or sixth grade: After reading the first book, I was so smitten I begged my parents to buy me the remaining fortysomething volumes for my birthday.

WSJ: The Historian's Stories

"Knowing that I did pass our 10th wedding anniversary and Tom's birthday -- and feeling my way through the maze of grief that you go through during the first year -- I think that it will make those occasions next year a little more open to happiness and joy, knowing that we've experienced them at least once without Tom, " she said.

CNN: Relatives recite poems, give tribute, try to heal