Mick Jagger, The U.S. Post Office & Growing Older But No Up
The days of looking at the calendar weeks ahead of time and doing daily countdowns the week before the “big day” is long over my shoulder. In fact, when someone mentions my birthday is coming up, I tend to say “really? You mean it’s this week!?”
Yet today, July 26 is my birthday. I share it with Mick Jagger and the United States Post Office. Somehow, I think I’ll outlive both of them.
I don’t keep track of my age, so don’t bother to ask. I have two standard responses to that question (ironically, only asked by girls who NEVER want you to know their age).
One is “ask my mother; she keeps track of such things.” My other one is this line from a Jimmy Buffett song: “I’m growing older but not up. My metabolic rate is pleasantly stuck.” If that does not satisfy, I then finish the lyric by adding: “I’d rather die while I’m living than live while I’m dead.”
I’m fortunate that my birthday falls in July Summertime! I never had to worry about going to school all day on my birthday. Or having it fall around Christmas, which as a kid is tough on both the child and the parents because of the awkward gift situation.
I don’t really recall any particular birthday as being special, but I do know my parents always made me feel like a king. In fact, on this day this year, my mom is decorating their house with pictures of me. How cool!
One year, with my birthday approaching, a friend called to say he and his wife were going to Vegas and invited me to join them. I did and as it turned out – a surprise to all of us – the original Beach Boys were playing a free concert on Fremont Street. That was a real treat!
Another year, as a friend and I were preparing for one of the seemingly endless surprise birthday dinners for another friend, I mentioned kind of out of planning frustration that “nobody ever throws me a surprise party!” I wasn’t asking for one; I was really just complaining but by golly a few months later she organized one for me.
It totally caught me off guard and I learned never to complain about somebody organizing a surprise party for someone.
I don’t know what’s on tap for this year and frankly, I wouldn’t mind to let it slip by unnoticed, tho one of my party planning roommates has already mentioned “you’re birthday is coming up!,” a couple of times.
To conclude, I’ll just say this about turning another year older in life. It’s the well-known and appropriate quote from Mickey Mantle: “If I had known I was going to live this long, I would have taken better care of myself.”
Cheers!
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