Matt's birthday. As one of his advisors said, "He'll never learn long division but he'll always make friends." He works as a buggy gopher at a Loblaws store and on the occasions I have met him there, his co-workers all tell me what a friendly, polite young man he is - not so young any more. As I told you, he's 54 years old today. He's smart enough to be aware of his limitations. He asked me early on, "Am I going to push grocery carts for the rest of my life?" I guess. He was given his 20-year-service pin a while ago. I told him it was as significant as my Order of Canada. It meant he showed up every day, as we all must.

He's a glass-half-full kind of guy, thank goodness, and he has an amazing sense of humour and an awesome resilience, oh, and a forgiving nature. He's had his share of bullies and con artists and neglect and he moves on, hurt but not resentful. Without a birthday book or an app he remembers the birth dates of his entire family, including his nieces and nephews, as well as his friends. He has his own home, an apartment he shares under the aegis of Community Living Toronto.

It hasn't been easy. I vowed when he was born that he would grow up to be an independent person with a life of his own, a welcome guest in his siblings' homes, not an undesirable boarder, and he made it. I'm very proud of him.

And that's all I have to say about that.