In Denial

I've tried to ignore this day, I really have, but somehow it's still arrived. It's not so much that it's my birthday, but it's how old I've now become. Every time that first digit changes, it makes me cringe, and believe me, this is the worst it's ever been.

Don't get me wrong, I have a wonderful life...I have a husband who adores me, and whom I also adore. I have two wonderful, kind, loving sons (who occasionally drive me nuts at times, but that's just the way it is when you go through those teenage years). I have two healthy, fantastic parents who live in the same town. I've also been blessed with other family members who live very close by. I have a terrific job that I am pretty darn good at, if I do say so myself! I live in a well-functioning, comfortable home. Most importantly, I have my health.

But it's still rough when you reach this age.

We celebrated Saturday night by going to Bravo. If you've never been to a Bravo restaurant, I highly recommend it. Their ciabatta and foccacia bread is delicious, and their dipping oil is superb! We don't go very often (it's about 30 miles away) so when we do eat there, we come away stuffed to the gills!

The boys weren't too thrilled about having their picture taken, but fortunately they went along with it. Alex (on the left) ordered pizza, and Joey ordered spaghetti and meatballs. For years he's gone into a restaurant and ordered a cheeseburger and french fries, and we told him that he could NOT order that at Bravo! So he went to his second favorite meal...spaghetti and meatballs. His meal met with his approval!

Ted ordered tilapia. He likes fish, and I don't make fish, so he usually gets it no matter where he goes. He was extremely happy with his meal. I ordered penne` pasta with bolognese sauce and it was absolutely WONDERFUL!

We had a great time together. As the boys get older (17 and 21) things like this happen with less frequency, so we take advantage of it when we can.

(Although the date is correct on my pictures, the time isn't. I think it changed when the time changed this past spring. I need to figure out how to correct that. It's actually an hour later than the picture states. AND...my hair is much shorter than it was a month ago! I had about 10" cut off. Since I've reached "this age" it's probably time to stop wearing a ponytail all the time...sigh.)

I also decided to treat myself to a birthday gift. I don't usually do this, but for this year, I'm all about thinking, "What the heck, why not?" So I ordered myself an iPod Nano...not just any iPod Nano either. I ordered it from the apple store and even had my name engraved on the back. Of course to see it, you need a magnifying glass, but that's okay. Being that I live with a lot of testosterone, I decided to order it in PINK...sometimes a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do. The only problem is that I haven't figured it all out yet. I had gotten one for Ted for Christmas (and I got Alex an iPod Shuffle), and it took him a little while to understand how to operate it. As long as I get it all figured out before I go back to work, I'll be happy. I even ordered a pink case to go with it, so it won't get all scratched up.

So that's it...another year, another decade. This getting old crap is for the birds! And if one more person says, "Age is just a number" or any other whimsical quip, I might have to get nasty with them.

Happy Birthday to me.

Edited to add:

I just had a delivery! Yes, a real delivery! And this is what I got!

Terre, you don't know how this brightened my day! Thank you for making it not seem as bad as I think it is. For the first time today, I've really smiled, and I'm going to handle with this with grace and dignity. Afterall, I have your wonderful example to follow!