Big, fat birthday

I have big, fat round birthday coming up. My friends love it. You see, there are those who have already past this milestone and feel my time is long overdue. I understand that feeling.

I have a sister who is 4 years younger. I remember once I thought she was turning 30, and she said, "Oh, God, no. I'm not THAT old." I made sure that, the following year, when she did turn 30 that I called her, and do you know what I said?

I said it's about (bleep) time!

That's just part of being a big sister. It's universal. When my good friend, Dee, turned 40, her older sister called her and said, "Welcome to my box!"

"What?" Dee said.

"My box! Now when you are filling out questionnaires, you have to check the 40-50 box!" said her sister giddily.

I imagine I will get an equally giddy welcome wagon call from Dee on my birthday as well.

Aging (man, I hate to use that word) is a funny thing. If it weren't for the fact that my children can almost look me directly in the eye, I don't think I would notice. Well, except for the pain in my hip ...

My dad once said that he feels just like he did when he was in his early 40s until he looks in the mirror and sees how white his hair is. Of course, I'm sure I contributed to many of those gray hairs.

The truth is, I really don't mind turning 40 as long as I don't have to run a half-marathon. While I admire the many, many, many women who do this at this age, I don't wanna. I didn't want to at 20, and I don't want to now.

In fact, I even asked Dee if she thought I had to in order to get into the 40 bracket.

"Nah, you'll still be 40 anyway," she said giggling with pleasure at the thought.

So, in lieu of running, she and I are going to try ziplinning. You can do this in Whitesburg, you know?

My other goals are a little less physical:

Reading more -- I joined a book club six months ago. That was the first step. Now if I would only start reading the books.

Use cruise control -- I don't really have a burning desire to do this, but since my husband can't believe I've never used it, I will give it a try. Plus it might cut down on speeding tickets.

Stay up-to-date on current events -- If they would quit changing everyday, I could do this one.

Above all, I vow to dwell less on age. A friend of mine said 39 really is worse than 40 because of the dread factor, and I believe her. After all, age is just a number. That is until you're filling out questionnaires and have to check the 40-50 box!