It's My Birthday

Tomorrow is my birthday.

I will be 33.

I remember being little and doing the math that showed that in the year 2000 I would be 28. I remember thinking that 2000 was as tangible or comprehendible as the other side of the moon. I mean, 28 would be ANCIENT. I never got around to doing the math for 33, mostly because my concept of aging could not support the notion of me actually being something ridiculous like 33. I mean, what would 33-year olds be doing anyway? It’s not like they had toys and recess and girl scouts and soccer games on Saturdays. Anything greater than 28 felt sufficiently ludicrous as to be of no consequence.

And yet, here I am. Down a girl scout membership but up a few toys, perhaps a more defined appreciation for recess, and still some soccer games on Saturdays. It’s not so bad. I’ve also learned quite a bit on my trek since that 7-year old math equation:

Taking the risk to love someone is always worth it.
Living well is always the best revenge.
Sunscreen and vitamins really are non-negotiable.
Beware the things with which you fill your life in order to escape from your life.
If you are intimately familiar with the story arcs on more than 3 television programs, sell your TV and get familiar with your OWN story arc.
Never forget how it felt to fall in love and have your heart broken; it makes you kinder to both your friends and kids when it happens to them.
If a guy disrespects his mother, he will disrespect you. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but the disrespect will come.
The responsibility for cutting the apron strings has to rest with the child. No parent can easily let go as long as the child hangs on; it’s not in our nature.
Corollary: Yes, financial support equals apron strings. Really.
Telling one painful, difficult truth will save you the heartache of the distrust created by many little lies.
Your integrity is all that you truly have; guard it with your life. Lose someone’s trust and you have lost everything.
You always have the power to choose how to act, be it dishonestly, kindly, rudely, positively.
A man cannot give you what he himself does not have to give. If he doesn't love himself he can never really love you; if he doesn't value honesty, he will never be honest with you.
If you get a dog, you WILL start buying each other gifts from him, even if you swear you won’t.

And to the boys in homeroom: shy fat girls do indeed blossom into gregarious women who can’t believe how fat YOU are at the reunion. ;)