Happy Birthday Queenie!

Today is the day I ignore all my Republican leanings (no, not what you are thinking my little USA friends) and swear allegiance to the Queen. Who wouldn't when she gives you the day off work!

A friend pointed out that it's not going to have such a ring to it when old Chucky-Big-Ears gets the throne. "Kings Birthday" just doesn't have the same ring. All things considered though, even if he does get the throne ("My arse he will" says Queenie) it will probably still be called Queen's Birthday Weekend given his proclivity to wearing big frocks & tiaras ... ok so they are really robes & crowns but they are all frocks when you get down to it...

Whatever the reason it is a great weekend. It's not that I don't like working or my job - I feel fortunate to both have employment and at a job that makes me think every day - but I do value the time to be with friends, family, myself and not have to rush. If I want to share a glass of wine with a darling friend on webcam then I can. If I want to cook for my oldest friend and watch crap tv together, I can. If I want to have a late night phone call with my cousin-who-should-be-my-sister, I can do that too and all the while not worry that the alarm clock will be ringing in just a few hours ...

Yesterday Joolz was telling me how someone told her that "50" is the new "teens" and the more we talked about it the more it made sense. It's like being 18 again but with a back story and a bit more information. We are still asking the questions we asked at 18 - "who am I?", "where am I going", "what shall I do with the rest of my life" - but now we are confident that the risks we take won't hurt us. We've been hurt. We have been broken. We survived and we know that no matter how bad it gets we will keep on surviving. In spirit at least.

Yes, we face mortality now but with a real handle on it. Our friends have died or faced life threatening illness or injury. We know with certainty now that we will too one day. It's no longer that we think of life having a "Best By Date" rather it is now an "Expiry Date".

The difference is at 18 I could push it to the back of my mind and ramble through my life waiting to see what happens next. Now I want more and I refuse to wait for "one day." Yes the priorities differ. At 18 the most important thing was where we were going on Friday night, what would I wear & who would I go with. At 51 I am suddenly preoccupied with losing weight, eating well, exercising more. Anything to make my life right now the experience I want it to be. Life is just far too much fun to be in the passenger seat, or sitting at home waiting for the big idea to arrive in the mailbox.

I'm sure there is much more to say on the subject but for now there are things to do, places to be, things to see. Go have some fun too!

PS. See Sheila, you are world famous in NZ!!