55 Years and Counting

Today is my birthday and I turned fifty-five years old . Several thoughts though kept running through my mind today on aging and family. For instance:

• No-one in my family can carry a tune - the men in my immeadiate family all called separately today and sang Happy Birthday to me... once was bearable, twice was torture and the third time was physically painful. My own singing voice is known as making my son's stomach hurt. Definately genetics in action.
• As a teenager I was appalled that I would be 48 when the millenium occured. How could I live so long ... heck I believed my own mother was a wisened old crone at the age of 40! I recently had the opportunity to see some candid shots of Mom at 55 and we look incredibly alike. There are two noticable differences - she was taller than me (5'10" to my 5'7") and she dyed her hair strawberry blonde ( I am au natural at 70% grey).
• Until today, I thought I would be celebrating with some large purchase like a new car or fancy embroidery machine. After walking the dogs this morning I realized that just playing with the dogs all day would be preferable to shopping. How things have changed! Even a few years ago a day shopping would take precedence over any other activity. Am I getting old? I don't think so, probably a little bit wiser on what is important.
• I have a female cousin who was born on June 10, just eight hours before I made my entrance on June 11. I realized that I have not seen her or heard from her directly in about 35 years. How did we loose touch when there should be such a natural connection between us? One thing that may have seperated us was the incredible rivallry between our mothers. These sisters were the last two children in a family of seven kids. After five boys, my mother was child number six, while her sister was number seven. As the first girl in her family my mother probably saw her sister as a johnny come lately and, except for the big events in their lives, they never saw or corresponded with each other. The last decade or so of their lives did see a bit of a thaw in their relationship but, even as they both faced significant medical challenges, the sniping continued. Maybe it is a good thing that my relationship with my cousin is non-existent so that we don't get sucked into the family discord but it does make me a little sad that I have no relationships with any of my cousins, even the one that should be a natural fit.

On a humorous note, my son came to see me this evenng so we could go to dinner together. I was not expecting anything from him unless it was socks or scissors... two things I am constantly losing. Instead he brought me a new lawn mower with an electric ingnition, nine height adjustments, mulching blades ...it is even self propelled. It looks like my experiment in self-powered mowing is pretty much dead as, I must admit, that it really is easy to start and use and, as the days get hotter, will be a joy to use.

I wonder what this year will bring? I do hope my voice comes back and that no other health issues rear their ugly heads. If I wake up every morning glad that I am still breahing it will be an excellent year.