The Big Birthday Has Come and Gone

The big birthday has come and gone, and I'm still here, though the weeks of self pity and dread wreaked havoc on my immune system. This cold is no fun. But nobody likes a whiner, so I'll spare you.

There have been several new developments since my birthday has arrived.

First, not many things that you dread in life are as bad as you think. Labor and delivery is an exception to that. That experience is much worse. But really, I didn't feel nearly as bad as I thought I would about my birthday. My new driver's license photo makes me look old and tired, and even that was more humorous than depressing.

Another revelation for me is a few minutes of quiet time a day are really necessary for sanity in old age. When I plunged into the Dr. Weil book last week, I skipped over the section on taking a five-minute breathing awareness break each day. It just sounded a bit corny to me. As much as I would like to think I could be all mystical and dreamy, I'm a realist at heart. One of my good friends and I laugh about our childhood imaginary friends. Hers was all glitter and fantasy. Mine was a working-class lady named Martha who had four kids, a factory job, and a candy cigarette habit.

But I revisited the paragraph on breathing and once I sat down, set my cell phone timer for five minutes, and started "being aware of my breath" (do I have to use that phrase?), it really was cathartic. I felt calm. Freakouts seemed a little ridiculous. So breathing is in.

Finally, birthday cake is probably not a wise breakfast choice anymore, so this year I abstained.