From Marianne: How Old Do You Feel? 🎂

This week Bob and I celebrate our birthdays. His was August 9th, mine is August 12.

Birthdays have become... complicated.

Here's what happens to me all the time. I'll spend the day with one of my kids. We'll run errands, go shopping, grab lunch. We're laughing at the same jokes, talking about life, trying on the same clothes. I completely forget we're different generations.

Then I catch my reflection in a mirror. Who is that? Seriously. For hours I've been convinced I'm basically their age, until the mirror reminds me I'm not. The mirror does not lie, unfortunately.

The older I get, the more grateful I become for every birthday. Too many friends are dealing with illnesses they never saw coming. None of us knows how much time we get. Which is exactly why I'm done taking any of it for granted.

Then the other day I saw someone claiming we'll eventually live to 250 years old. Bob's response: "Oh no... I don't want to miss that!"

Now that's optimism.

Can you imagine?

Retirement at 125. Your kids finally moving out when they're 83. Still trying to lose the same ten pounds at 147.

And after 168 years of marriage, Bob would still ask me if I wanted Chinese food.

I mean, really, that doesn't sound so bad.