My birthday was last week and I am very proud to say that I celebrated it with panache. I love my birthday and don't understand why some people want it just to be another day. Where is it written that once you are a grown-up, birthdays don't mean as much? Besides loving my own birthday, I like other people's birthdays, as well. To me, birthdays are right up there with my other two favorites, Christmas and the 4th of July.
Maybe it's because I am a Leo. For those of you out there that don't know about Leos, we are the wild child, center of attention, luxury loving, nothing-is-impossible sign of the zodiac. Leo also rules the heart. We know how to love others and we know how to love ourselves. Here is an astrologers definition:
The Leo is the most dominant, spontaneously creative and extroverted of all the zodiacal characters. In grandeur of manner, splendor of bearing and magnanimity of personality, they are the monarchs among humans as the lion is king of beasts. They are ambitious, courageous, dominant, strong willed, positive, independent, self-confident and there is no such a word as doubt in their vocabularies.
Leos don't just have birthdays, we have birth months. The minute July turns from Cancer to Leo, it is our birthday. It stays that way until August 23.
Honestly, I am so grateful to get another year on this earth, why wouldn't I celebrate? Treat it like any other day? I think not.
I had a great time this year. I went to a comedy show with some friends. I chose this particular show because it is called the "Home By Ten" comedy show. It starts at 7:30 and goes until 9 p.m. Realistically, you could be home and in bed by 10. This was intended as a first stop on a night out on the town before dinner and clubbing. It works out really well for people over 50 who go to bed early. My son-in-law, the actor/comedian, runs this show. He is the master of ceremonies, and yes... he makes jokes about me. I am so proud of him. His career is going well. (He just did his first national commercial. Here's the link if you want to chuckle. He is the cute guy on the left side of the desk).
“Leos don't just have birthdays, we have birth months”.The evening of laughs was such fun and then we went to one of my favorite restaurants and had delicious food and wine under the summer stars. None of us got to bed until after 1 a.m.. Thank goodness it was Saturday and we could sleep in. Old people are so funny. We all looked at our watches as we were waiting for the valet. "Wow! 12:35 in the morning!" was heard more than once. "Remember when we used to party all night and then go to work the next day?" one friend said. Isn't it hilarious that something that was once so cool sounds so hideous now?
Anyway, I feel sorry for people who don't celebrate birthdays. Many are not looking forward to being a year older. I am just so glad I made it another year, but I am not in love with all that happens as the years pile on. Life gets much harder in many ways.
For example, putting on make-up. As your face ages, make up doesn't just glide on anymore. I never thought the day would come that I would be seeking out eye shadow that doesn't have sparkles in it. I am all about bling, but had to give it up on my eyelids. Iridescent shadow makes your wrinkly eyelids look even wrinklier.
Shoe options become more limited. I once had a closet full of sexy high heels. As I got older, I wore the heels less and less. Comfort became more important than glamour. Now I am at a place where I don't like to go anywhere that flip flops are not accepted. I LOVE flip flops! I can wear them all day and my feet never get tired. I have over 75 pair and some of them are very dressy with fancy trim. I probably have one of the most amazing collections of flip flops in the universe. And if you were wondering, I wore flip flops to my birthday party. They were encrusted with stones and quite dazzling. Are you jealous?
I think Bette Davis said that old age was not for sissies. I couldn't agree more. I really only feel old in the morning. When I first get out of bed, I hate that "Tin Man" thing my body does during my first few steps. It doesn't last long and I don't let it hinder my journey to the coffee pot. Nothing keeps me from coffee.
You can't avoid getting older. Even if you pull it all back with surgery, and Botox the wrinkles, you are still the same age. There's a saying about the beauty of growing old gracefully. I don't know if that is possible since the older I get the stronger my glasses need to be. I trip over the dog a lot and bump into things on a regular basis, so I don't think "gracefully" is an option. I do, however, plan to keep celebrating each birthday as sensationally as I can for as long as I can . My plan is to keep my birthdays as kickass possible until it is time to take my dirt nap. I might even embroider those exact sentiments on a pillow.
