Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Hellloooo 37.

Today is my birthday. I am 37. I never imagined that I would be here, where I am, now. But how could I? First of all, my mom conceived me at 37. SIXTEEN years after my sister, with no other kids in between (although she had 2 miscarriages). I was a "miracle" pregnancy. My parents were sure their baby-maker was busted and had stopped thinking about the remote possibility of having another child. My sister was a senior in high school. My mom had plans to go back and finish her college degree. Life was moving in another direction. Oops. There I was. But, I always felt, growing up that my parents were so OOOLLDD!! My mom was 38 when I was born and my dad was 40. Granted, by today's standards that is nothing out of the ordinary. But when I was growing up it was sort of odd. And, my dad was one of those people (and unfortunately, I have inherited some of this) who aged more rapidly than he should of, and he looked much older than his true age. Also, while most of my friends' parents were comparably younger and hipper, and had much more energy, my parents were still living in the 1950's. It was really a drag. So I swore if I ever had kids, I would have them super young, and be a young, hip mom. I never even imagined what my life would be like at 37 because, surely, by 37, life would pretty much be over and I'd just be waiting to die....right? So, here I am... wow. I'm not really sure what to say. I hope I can do better by my one child than my parents did by me. I realize now that age is more about attitude than years, and my parents were just living in a different era. They also were unhappy people and had given up on living life, and that is what made them seem so.....old. I will try to be more energetic, more in tune, more aware, and yes, if I can, way more "hip" than my parents were. I will try to continue to take care of my health, and hopefully (unlike my father) I will live a long healthy life and get to see my son grow up, become an adult, and not only dance at his wedding, but show the youngin's a thing or two. I will hold my grandchildren, and if I'm super lucky I'll be around to see them blossom toward or into adulthood as well. Hell, maybe one day I'll even hold a great grandchild in my arms. If I'm with it enough to know who I'm looking at. Ahhh, this is a hard one, for me folks. But I am trying to stay calm. Life is what you make of it, and life has moved in a much different direction than I ever thought. I pray that I will be able to bring another child into this family and that Handsome Man will not grow up an only child. I pray that I will find the inner strength and God will help me to be a good mom. I pray that I will hold onto my youthful feelings about life, even if my face reveals a different image in the mirror. (Thankfully, there is Botox and other stuff, that, once I can afford it, I'm aaaaalll over). I pray that this year I can find some resolutions to my sorrow and my longings, and whether that means making peace with what I have and moving on, or pursuing another adoption, or doing DE/IVF or hell, getting a miracle and getting pregnant with my own eggs, that by 38 I'll be a little closer to where I want to be. But I also know that I can't put too many demands on an age or a year. I realize I have no control over this. I can only do what little tiny bit is mine to do...with the limited resources we have. I need to be ok with wherever I am this time next year. And that will be a challenge, I'm sure.

I am thankful for my friends, both "real" and "from the internets," my husband and Dear God my wonderful son.

My challenge to myself for year #37 will be to do the OPPOSITE of what my parents did. Instead I need to pursue Life--to live, have fun, be engaged in my son's life. To have friends, have goals, and to feel inspired and....Alive. I have a lot of work ahead of me. I will have to start digging myself out of a pretty deep hole that I've dug myself into over the past few years....a hole of despair and apathy brought on by the overwhelming disappointment that is Infertility. So, (*grabbing shovel*) here I go. Wish me luck.

12 comments:

Just me said...

Happy birthday to you.
Happy birthday to you.
Happy BIRTH-DAY dear Frenchie...
Happy Birthday to you!!!!!

I love your attitude and your plans. Here is to a very happy, fulfilling year!!!

Heather said...

Happy birthday!

s.e. said...

Happy Birthday!

I understand how milestones that we created in childhood make some years monumental. I hope you find this year to be better than you always expected.

You are still young!

Meghan said...

Happy happy birthday!!!

Lori Lavender Luz said...

"surely, by 37, life would pretty much be over and' I'd just be waiting to die....right?"

I'm still snickering.

Happy birthday, my friend. May the coming year be one of wonder for you.

Anonymous said...

Here from LFCA--Happy Birthday, and I really loved this post. I too had the plan to be a young mom, for the reasons that you mentioned, but I love your realization about age being more in attitude than years. Thanks.

luna said...

happy birthday, frenchie!

they become so loaded, don't they?

wishing you a fabulous celebration and a terrific year ahead.

cheers!

p.s. I still can't seem to follow you on twitter either! I tried to tweet you but nothing came through. not sure what's up with that.

Baby Smiling In Back Seat said...

Happy Happy Birthday!!

Mo said...

happy birthday! I just turned 37 last month myself! hope this is a great year for both of us!

mo

chicklet said...

Happy belated. Wishing you a very big and very workable shovel for that digging:-)

Char said...

Hi Frenchie. I am finally back online again, and now that I can read your blog again, I see you just had your birthday! My sister's birthday also falls on the 10th of Feb. So, it's a good day to have been born! c",)

Kami said...

Happy Birthday!

This is a great post filled with hope! I hope you get your miracle pregnancy as well - either with help or on your own.