Getting Older

So this Saturday (May 7th) I will be 43 years old. This blows my mind, I am not exactly sure when I grew up but clearly it snuck in there somewhere.

Did you ever see that Oreo commercial where the man is driving the car and there is a little boy, maybe 3 in the car seat in the back? Well he is driving and eating an Oreo as is the child. He opens it and is licking the filling while looking back in the mirror at the child doing the same, clearly it was not a busy traffic day or he is multi talented to eat , twist, look and drive all at the same time but that is not the point. He says out loud "The mear (is that how you spell that?) fact that I am responsible for another humans life is amazing to me, I am not old enough for that." That is exactly the way I feel daily, I think they should have cast me in that roll, I would have been perfect!

Things from yesterday seem so fresh, I remember high school like it was yesterday and I remember sitting with my friend Mary (OK Mariangela or Marie or whatever she is calling herself these days) in front of her house, clearly I was 17 since I was in the car, yep my 1971 Pumpkin Orange Toyota Celica, talking about New Years Eve 1999 to 2000 and how old we would be then; lets recall I was 32 in the year 2000, whew old!! We talked about where we thought we would be in our lives, how I would be married (well we know that was untrue) and how I would have 2-3 kids (whoops not true either) and probably need a babysitter to go out partying that night, (yeah that was not happening either, we were all worrying the world would crash, remember?). I remember thinking the day I graduated high school how I could not leave all my friends, who would I know, who would be my friend, I saw nothing past next week or month. Then came friends weddings and babies and who moved and went away to college and yes we lived and grew and unfortunately got older.

Through the wonderful world of Facebook I have found many of those old friends again and always cringe when I see age in there face as I still think of them as 17-18, I cringe when I hear that there children are going to college or that they are getting married or becoming grandparents. ACK!! I cannot get past the fact that I am old enough for any of that, I feel like I am not, I look in the mirror and I look no older to me, but sadly the world knows it I am not 20 anymore and when some 16 year old calls me "ma'am" I always want to punch them in the face, sorry kids!

Ultimately, I have realized that the alternative to getting old is being dead so I think I will go with the getting old option but I just wish it would slow down. I realize that simple things like being able to have a baby (OK not simple for me, but in general) are at the point in my life that I say things like "I am too old for that." Heck they had "AMA" (Advanced Maternal Age) on my chart when I had Ryan in 2007, what would they put now? WPAMA- way past advanced maternal age? or WTOSDO- Watch this one she is damn old?

The funny part of this whole thing is though I LOVE my birthday, ask Peter he will tell you because it's more like birthday week or heck even month. I tell him that the day I was born God went "Hmmm Hmmm" and raised his arms in joy, Peter CRACKS up at me!! I like surprise present of which I never get any because my husband needs "lists" all the time but heck I just love present so not sure why I am complaining. I hate that it is always near Mothers day because he tries to squish the 2 gifts together, ummm not happening buddy. But birthdays is general rock!!

All in all I think it should be a national holiday that we all celebrate together. Like Cinco de Siete, I guess that is sort of already taken or Happy Jill O Birthday Day?! We'll need to work on the name