Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Birthday Thoughts...

Another birthday has just rolled around.  They seem to be coming more often now.  I don't look forward to them like I did as a kid, but I think I appreciate them more.  I remember when I couldn't wait to get older.  I wanted to be twelve or thirteen, sixteen, eighteen, twenty-one.  There was always an age to aspire to.  Now, I'm in no such hurry to get older.  Older is what my parents were - not me!

Sixty -one has always sounded older to me.  Grey hair cut short, a grey Oldsmobile, sensible shoes, conservative values and a touch of dismay over the younger generation.  But that's not me.  I keep my hair dark and shoulder length...with just a splash of silver bangs and have never driven an Oldsmobile of any color.  My values, far from conservative, include choice, gay marriage and tolerance and I envy the younger generation in some ways.  I do wear sensible shoes though - no fun having ones feet hurt!  So what does sixty-one really look like?

This time last year I was in Spain.  Took a marvelous ten day trip with my then boyfriend.  My first across an ocean.  We explored Spain and took a quick hop to Africa, spending a day in Tangier, Morocco.  It was fun, exciting and exhilerating; I revelled in the different cultures and turning sixty slipped by almost unnoticed - which was my plan!

This year there was no milestone, just a simple transition from sixty to sixty-one.  Rather than jumping continents, I traveled only a few counties away and celebrated with the new man in my life.  We had a lovely dinner out and watched a classic - Gone With the Wind.  I hope to spend my next birthday with him too.