13 years

I have never had a birthday bother me much---I'm the type to be like, hey, cool, I'm still alive...that's great. This year, for some reason, I can't get it out of my head that there's only 13 more years until I'm 50. I don't know why it's such a big deal to me this year but that's what I keep thinking about. Maybe because I remember my mom at 37 (I was 17) and she seemed so freaking old and out of touch to me then. She wasn't, really -- it was a teenager's perspective -- but now I have a 17-year old daughter who quite often looks at me like I'm just slightly out of touch with reality and oh so definitely not "cool."

I used to take consolation in the fact that Dave is older than me. He will be 45 this year. Talk about old! :) But you know, that's the frustrating thing -- men seem to be better older and women seem to do a slow deterioration process.

Getting older is still better than the alternative...I guess I'll quit bitching and make the best of it...but I sure agree with the old man from It's A Wonderful Life: Youth IS wasted on the young!