Exactly as it should be

I am now 35 years old.* This is the age I have always felt myself to be, and now I am at exactly the right age. This is it! This is my year. I think I'm just going to stay 35 forever.

Last night, I sat in the dining room in the dark while Cook and Skipper and Dutch lit the candles on my cake. Cook said "Skipper, don't blow the candle out," and then he lit a candle and she immediately blew it out. They finally got the candles lit, and they came out singing. Dutch may be totally tone deaf, and Skipper doesn't actually know how to sing  the Happy Birthday song, so it was a little hard to tell what they were singing, but it was beautiful. My family, in the dark, with candles, singing.** I got a little weepy.

Which is not to say that the whining and tantrums are in any way diminished, but they feel okay today. Tomorrow... we'll see.


* I thought twice about writing this, in case you suddenly feel that you need to send me presents or apologies for forgetting my birthday. If you're feeling that way, you should stop, because I neither need presents nor ever remember other people's birthdays. I'm sure I'll forget yours, and have forgotten it repeatedly in the past. So do NOT feel guilty, because then I'll have to feel guilty, and that's a terrible thing to do to somebody on their birthday.


** "Singing"

Comments

JT said…
Love you, birthday girl! Birthday old woman just doesn't have the same ring to it.
tiffky doofky said…
Just heard David Rakoff say a similar thing on the radio, except his ideal age is 47-52. I am also relieved to be in my 30's. Being young never made much sense to me. I think it was supposed to be fun, but I never felt like I was doing it right.

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