So, you're 39?

When my mom called me on Friday to wish me a happy birthday, I could hear my dad in the background saying, "Tell him he's working on 40." Well, I guess I am. Though I prefer to say that I'm sitting under the shade tree of 40. I'm saying the same thing, but taking the Southern prerogative of expressing it a bit more lyrically. Today, I went to my aunt's and uncle's for a family cookout. She and I have birthdays that are fairly close together, and I think we had some other events to celebrate, but it really doesn't matter too much. What matters is that we got to eat hamburgers and hotdogs off the grill! And Mom made me a birthday cake! How cool is that??

Actually, I think 39 is an interesting age to be. I'm still young enough to have goals and dreams, yet I'm old enough to have -- hopefully -- learned from my past mistakes. I have a friend who turns 56 this year. She and I are most likely going to be roommates come September, but to me, she seems ageless because she's always up for new experiences and is always looking to broaden her horizons. I hope I can age that gracefully. They say life begins at 40. But isn't 60 the new 40? So, do I have to wait for 60 for my life to begin? I think life begins when you want it to begin.

I'll have to get used to saying I'm 39 now, after finally getting used to saying I was 38. Do you know what I think? I think it would be really cool to get in awesome shape and say that I was in the best shape of my life in my 40s. By the time I'm 40, I will have finished one graduate degree and possibly started another one, so I'm expanding my mind as well as my student loan debt.

So, I guess the point to all of this reflective mish-mash is that I'm perfectly okay with turning 39. And I'll be okay with turning 40. I'm curious to see what's in store for me each year that I'm here.