33

Well, it's half past midnight on the day I was born 33 years ago.  I'm not sure what time of day I was born, but it was technically sometime today.  Oh!  Just called Mom and she says it was about 11:30 a.m.  I said no wonder I like to sleep in!

I was lying in bed earlier realizing that I haven't really given much thought to this birthday, this year.  I don't even know if I am having cake or not (hello! a birthday without cake?!!?) and if I don't, for some reason that's indicative of well, getting older.  Perhaps too old.

Some time ago I started thinking of my age not as "I can't wait until I am such and such age" but as in "well, I have about this many years left of my life".  I'm starting to understand the "over the hill" terminology.  But I won't talk about that because that's still 7 long years away. Used to be 6.  Oh, well.

Back to bed.  I mean, what I was thinking as I was lying there listening to Mike and Amber snoring.  The fan ticked.  I'd been working for 10+ hours in the garage and finishing up some painting.  You'd think I'd be tired....you'd think I'd fall asleep before I hit the pillow.  But no...I had a "Lavaye Smith and Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers" song in my head playing itself over and over, just at the chorus.  It was getting annoying. 

So I decided to count sheep.  Yeah, I do that sometimes.  I try to visualize them hopping over some white picket fence in some pasture yonder.  Tonight, I could hear the clicking of the ceiling fan as it whirled around (click, click, click) and my little sheep were trying to keep in time to the clicking.  My sheep never leapt so quickly.  I was very proud of them.  But after about 97 leaps, it got old and I was still awake. 

I thought of getting up and watching TV.  But no, nothing would be on except for infomercials...even on cable.  So I prayed.

I began to think of all the blessings in my life.  All the things I was thankful for--one by one I listed them out for God to hear (okay, no one else could've heard because I wasn't saying it out loud, of course...just in my head). 

After my prayer, I tried to think of what I could think about to get that silly Skillet Lickers song out of my head.  At that point, it had returned for the 1,000th time.  I decided to test my memory (which has been scaring me lately) and think back on all the "milestone" birthdays I've had in my life so far. 

I started with 5.  I didn't remember my 5th birthday.  Maybe I was in Oklahoma that year.  So that got me thinking to the trip I took with my mom that summer to Oklahoma.  We flew on an airplane, probably my first time.  My doll and I had matching pink flowered sundresses that tied on the shoulders.  My mom and I slept with cottonballs in our ears because the bullfrogs and crickets kept us awake at night.  Love you so much, Mom. We would walk down a dirt road near sunset to a store that seemed miles away to get those ice cream cups with the wooden spoons.  My grandpa (whom we were visiting) killed an opossom and a snake in the barns that week.  I think it was two snakes actually. When I think about it, being 5 was exciting.  I really liked 5.

After that, I thought back to age 10.  I could be wrong, but I think I wore a baggy pink dress with pockets and royal blue dyed flats on my 10th birthday.  With a headband.  With a bow.  Thank you, Mema. I think I got white roller skates with pink wheels that year.  And I think we ate at Pardini's.  Man, I miss that place.  Where else do they let little kids eat at the salad bar for free and if you come in the morning they automatically know that you'd like cinnamon toast.  10 was tough. Cow sweatshirts and perms.  Gymnastics that made you feel like a giant.

I suppose 13 would be a milestone birthday.  I remember 13 for sure.  I had a slumber party that year with 13 guests.  Because, you know...I was 13.  I recall wrapping people in toilet paper.  I think it was because I was too nice to take them out teepeeing houses.  Hmmm...getting ready for high school at 13.  Thanks for putting up with us girls, Sam. :-)

Funny thing, I don't quite remember turning 16.  Except I DO remember taking my driver's test that day.  I passed.  I was soooo relieved.  I was sure I'd forget something.  That was the year I inherited the blue Taurus station wagon.  Hey, I was happy to have something to drive so we didn't have to keep paying people gas money to take me to school.  Plus, you can fit a lot of people in a station wagon. ;-) I also remember spending my 16th birthday with my dad.  He took me to various model homes (I guess he knew about my real estate obsession way back then) not with the intention to buy, but in Fresno the July heat is intense and his MS didn't do too well in hot temperatures.  So that was our inventive way to spend some time indoors.  It was fun!  He was still walking then, I think with a cane.  Miss you, Dad....

21.  TGI Fridays.  Called my MEMA & PAPA in the phone booth inside the restaurant to them know I was having "a great time".  hahaha  It's not the same without you, Pops...

24.  Obviously not a milestone birthday, but memorable.  NSync concert in Las Vegas. 7th section, 7th row, 7th seat.  And my hotel room was on the 7th floor.  I won about $400 that birthday playing Black Jack at a table that was ridiculously too high to play at.  I didn't pay attention to the sign.

30.  This is where I gave up.  I know I turned 30 in 2007.  That's all I know.

And now, 33.  That doesn't seem milestone either, does it?  There's speculation that Jesus was probably around 33 when he was crucified.  I guess the jury's still out on that one.  So I've always thought that 33 was pretty special.  I've been waiting for it.  I've been wanting to say "I'm the age that Jesus was when he died." And I don't mean that in a disrespectful way...Jesus was/is awesome.  Since the day I put my faith in Him, He has never let me down.  I might think sometimes that He has, but really in the Big Picture, He hasn't.  I am so thankful that He is with us, gave the Holy Spirit to us so we would have a Helper when He had to leave this earth.  At 33.

Well, God willing, I have many more birthdays to come!  And get to see others, too.  Like Mike's 40th, 50th, 60th, 70th, 80th, 90th, and 100th. I want someone I know to be on Good Morning America for their 100th. Hopefully, I'll be hosting birthday parties for my own little ones someday soon and maybe in half a decade or a decade my little nieces and nephews...I can't even imagine my little bros with kids yet!  And I'd love to hear "Happy Birthday, Grandma!" directed toward my very own high-tech hearing aid. 

It may sound cliche, but...the best is yet to come!!! 

Happy birthday to me!