I opened my eyes. They didn't feel forty. I moved. My bones didn't break. I rolled to the side of the bed and gingerly place my chubby lil pig toes on the carpet. They wiggled and waved hello. I didn't feel old. Hmph. Maybe this forty thing is doable.
I took a LOT of crap yesterday; ranging from "How is your last day of your thirties?" to the game where everyone was finding a reason to say "forty".
"How many tablets do you need?"
"Forty...just like Barb"
"How much is it?"
"Forty...same as Barb's age."
"Who is this for?"
"Why....it's for....TEE. Just like you."
Augh. But I dish it out so I have earned every moment. And it has really been funny to flip the bird so much. My finger hurts. I have such loving friends.
My babies came dashing in with breakfast (breakfast in bed is the birthday tradition) this morning. The dogs LOVE this. Everyone sang to me. The phone began to ring with more singing and laughs; more wonderful wishes than I knew what to do with. So I turned forty....for them of course. Not me.
I have received beautiful gifts: birdhouses for Promises. An engraved door "bell" (big brass clangy muthah--that I can't wait to see hanging outside my front door up there!!!) Some new gadgets...lalala
Once the kids were gone, I began to celebrate. I ventured to the spa, got my hair done, shopped, ate a decadent lunch and yapped on the phone with girlfriends. I'm home now with a cup of my favorite tea and am racing to get this up and out. I am going to be pampered some more tonight with a wonderful gourmet meal (Did you know we cook?) my favorite wine and my thoughtful family. I don't even have to walk the dogs tonight. It's no good for old bones.
So what does this have to do with a parking lot? I'll tell ya.
I sat in a lot this morning because I had arrived early. The business hadn't opened yet. It is a big parking lot: many MANY stores and bistros. It's actually quite a sprawling labyrinth of light poles,cement blocks and paint. It is a monster to get out of if you don't know your way around. As I sat and watched; drivers cruised trying to find an exit. They slowly ventured one way, got blocked and zoomed in another direction. The longer they searched, the more turned around they got and the faster they tried to get out. But they just dashed back and forth. It was just a parking lot. Jeez. If you want to get out...just go! Well, they struggled. Many of them. They began to follow each other. "Surely HE knows where he's going!" and then there was a little parade of lost "souls" wandering through this parking lot, trying to figure out what was going on...how to "DO" this....It was comical really. Stop. Go. Stop. Turn. Swerve. Go. Stop. I wondered if they would ever get out. Silliness. Of course they would. They would eventually get the hang of it...parking lots.
The business opened and I got what I wanted. I slipped back into my car and began to move. I stopped. "How do I get out of here again?" I thought. I looked around and saw yet another little collection panicking to find an exit. I could hear engines revving and slowing in frustrated intervals. Briefly, I entertained the idea "He knows where he's going. I'll follow THAT guy." I went the other way, doing what I thought was best at the time. I stumbled a little, even got cornered in a paking lot cul-de-sac. I angrily wondered why in Heaven's name they made it. It serves no purpose but to throw us off our original course. But I kept at it , kept trying, and I got out. All by my self and no worse the wear. Because I'm forty and I'm getting the hang of this "parking lot". Parking lots. Life. Funny how you see things. Perhaps I should have my glasses checked.
Of course, I went home and took a nap. It's what old people do, I hear.
Thanks again for all the fun in these last couple of days. You've made it unforgettable. I'm working on one, but am suffering from writer's block. I'll get there. Let's catch up at the end of the week? I'm heading up to Promises with some friends. Thanks for checking in on your newly OLD neighbor. ; ) Forty looks good on me. I'll gladly wear it.
