Grown up, getting old...the Birthday lament.

So yesterday was my 39th birthday (thank you Miss Housewife for your birthday-dedicated post). For the record, you may have been throwing up in my garden 23 years ago, however I was of course behaving with class and dignity as always.

Really.

By the way, where's my birthday cake pops?

Hope you and your fantastic ass have an awesome time at The Zoo this eve.

I had the most excellent day - waking up to breakfast in bed courtesy of # 1 son (vegemite on toast and coffee, if you're wondering) followed by a long, lazy lie-in. I had decided to take the day off as, really, who wants to go to work on their birthday?

Dad was coming up to see me for lunch so when there was a knock on the door about 10am, I truly wasn't expecting it to be him. Here he was, armed with weed killer, ready to do a number of the little varmints popping up all over my lovely white pebbled driveway.

Only my dad would come to take me out for a birthday lunch and attack a bunch of weeds beforehand.

Thanks dad :)

We then stocked up on grog for Dad's motel as this was Dad's trip to 'the big smoke'. I think the guy at the counter must have thought we were alcoholics judging by the haul we took through the checkout.

Then onto the most amazing seafood buffet I've seen (and tasted) in years. And as the self-appointed quality control inspector for the day, I was very thorough in my investigations, haha.

So thoroughly full of seafood (yuuuuummmm) and some time with my daddy (awwww) I came home to do, well, pretty much NOTHING for the rest of the afternoon until E got home from school.

Wonderful.

Yes it sounds pretty non-eventful but that's the way I like it. You see, for the record my birthdays usually SUCK. Something bad always seems to happen - sickness, someone in hospital, car breakdowns, fights with friends, breaking up with boyfriends, you name it, I've experienced it.

I've come to the conclusion that the only way my birthday can be enjoyed is to just plan very little and take the day to chill out. Consequently the last two birthdays seem to have been pretty damned nice.

So what'd I score?

Well my girlfriends and I have decided instead of dreading our 40th birthdays next year, instead we'll treat ourselves to a week in New York, sans kids/partners. Yay!

So my parents have set up a travel account for me to which they will deposit money in lieu of presents for birthdays/Christmas etc. Suits me!

I also received a beautiful bunch of flowers from my sister (thank you) and my grandmother has apparently sent me something but it hasn't arrived yet. I feel very spoilt and pretty damned lucky.

So onto the title of my post...

I don't seem to have an issue with 'milestone' birthdays. I think people hype them up so much and it just doesn't really bother me.

What DOES bother me, though, is the ones before or after the milestone. 30 was fine, a great year, but 31 was awful. It's probably a mental thing, that I deliberately won't get worked up over a milestone birthday when it's perfectly acceptable to do so, but then it hits me later like a delayed reaction.

So last night and this morning I've just been pondering...OMG 39!!! Like one less than 40.

Like officially middle aged.

I've entitled my blog 'Grown Up, Not Old' because most days I truly feel young at heart and just a great big kid playing grownups.

But then it hit me...

At lunch yesterday I had diet coke. Not wine, not champagne, diet coke.

I didn't have a drink to celebrate last night either. I didn't go out. I had popcorn for dinner and went to bed.

My 25 year old self would have been flabbergasted at such news. The wild, crazy party animal young me would have promptly drunk herself into a stupor and gone clubbing to block it out.

The young me couldn't stay at home. Couldn't understand why you'd go shopping for linen or kitchen porn...I mean, that's less money for drinking right/

So am I getting old?

These days I can happily while away the entire day at home and suddenly it's 5pm...

What?

When did this happen? When did I...heaven help me...get old?????

I'm a bit perplexed and not a little upset at myself. There is a part of me that feels like I should get tanked on champagne and discover Toowoomba nightspots this evening...just to show that I still CAN.

But there's another part that really can't be assed.

Oh dear.

So are you 'old'? When did it hit you? Should I get my party on STAT, or just go with the flow????

It's a conundrum.

So hope you're all having a wonderful weekend. Spare a thought for this old bag chilling at home and thoroughly enjoying it. Happy birthday to me :)

xx

Oh PS. thanks to my wonderful stepsister for her heartwarming text message saying she hopes I get one before I turn 40. Thanks. I sincerely hope I do too.