It's my birthday today. I'm 37. I have no university degree, I'm overweight, unschooled in conventional North American female grooming techniques (what do you mean I can't keep the same mascara I used twice a year for seven years? it's not still good?), have rapidly graying hair, wrinkles, occasionally sincerely lack communication skills to the determent of relationships and were I to have a child at this point in my life? I'd be cooking with soft boiled eggs.

On the other hand, when my Mom was this age she was residentially challenged with two small children and only her winning smile to turn to. When my maternal Grandmother was this age she was trapped. I have a groovy husband, the best imaginable friends, a nice budding new career, a pretty house and a cute cat. I'm eating an apple and can smell the coffee brewing downstairs. Mostly I communicate well and take great pleasure from being able to help the people who bless and populate my life. And although I'm working at being healthier (with the working out each day and the aforementioned apple) I'm not going to have some sort of crisis if I'm never a size 10 or 8. Some days, (shhhhh) I even like my fat. The aforementioned husband likes the gray. The lines are (mostly) from laughing. Today I have a business meeting at 10, to discuss helping out with a pilot pitch for a new TV series that I really believe in, and later on today am helping out one of my favorite musicians with a four song video demo. Both are (although heavily discounted) paying gigs. I love being a wedding officiant, and am really looking forward to the documentary on same sex marriage we're going to work on this year. We don't have funding and we'll be able to do it anyway because of the contacts I have and the fact we have the equipment and software necessary. If I really think about it, there's stuff I've don't I'm not proud of and choices I would have made differently with the benefit of hind sight, but over all I have no regrets. And the lady at the local bakery just gave me a pretty blueberry pastry and sang happy birthday to me.

Happy birthday to me indeed. :-)