COUNTDOWN TO 50 - The Last Friday Night of a Decade

Here it is, my last Friday night in my 40s. My sparkly 50^th Birthday tiara is sitting on my desk, all ready for Monday (it’s been there for almost the month), next to the glass of wine I’m celebrating this final Friday with.

The combination of anything sparkly (OOH, SPAAAHKLEY!) and the wine had already distracted me for a good ten minutes – once I noticed the reflection of the tiara in the wine. And then I had to take a picture (the staging of which took another ten minutes or so). I may or may not have tried taking a picture of the tiara ON the glass, resulting in flecks of glitter floating on top of the wine.

(I guess I’m going to sparkle on the inside as well!)

50! I can’t get over that. Since it’s so late in the year, most of my friends have already turned this particular corner. They now look down on me with the disdain of those a decade older (those who have ‘been there’ and ‘done that’), the look partially mitigated by a condescending smile – the same look I give to ‘kids’ in their 30s.

But I’m okay with that; that will be me next week.

One of my cats just jumped up onto my desk. He doesn’t give a shit about The Big Event coming next week – and I think he likes the sounds my computer makes when he sits his ass on my keyboard. I think he’s older than me, too, judging by the look he gave me after he sniffed the tiara (he already knows better than to go near the wine).

I had so much to say this week, so many things I planned to write about, but right now I’m just enjoying the wine and the night. And the wine. And 49.

And the wine.

As always on the last few days of September, everyone around me becomes just as excited for my birthday as I am – probably just because they can’t wait for me to shut up about it. But, hey, they’re still excited with me.

I love debating the common “Just Another Day” birthday theory. Uh, I don’t think so. The day itself is a gift; I have many friends who didn’t and won’t receive as many as I’ve had right now. You can be as blasé about birthdays as you want but you have to realize that it doesn’t have to be about anything special, just being ‘another’ day is a blessing.

Come Monday, I will have received 18,250 such blessings. I'm a lucky girl.