May 28 2004
Countdown
It’s a week until my birthday. Normally, I’m all “Only 7 shopping days left”. In fact, normally, I start the birthday countdown three months before the big day in order to make sure there’s lots of shopping time to get me a totally fab gift – I may be spoiled, but I can be accommodating, especially if it means getting more & better gifts. Normally, I have a Birthday Week, feeling that one day just ain’t enough.
But this year, for the first time since I can remember, I don’t really care about it. Can you believe this? It’s not because I’m worried about getting older. I’m still hopelessly immature and feel like a girl, even though I’ll be turning 42 next week. I feel better about myself than I did 20 years ago, and I wouldn’t be 30 or 25 or 18 again for anything (though I’d love to spend a summer week in Maine as a 9 or 10 year old, circa 1970). Construction workers and truckers and college boys still notice me, and yesterday, a girl who looked around 25 hit on me in Whole Foods. So it’s not that, though I am of course aware that my cute days are numbered and I better enjoy them now.
I’m not sure what it is. Part of blogger’s block? The birthday malaise suffered by many, if not most people? Maybe it will go away with sufficient application of champagne and cupcakes. Oh, and maybe sparklers!