HAPPY BIRTHDAY (to me)

Today is my Birthday, and if everyone would quit calling to remind me I would have a lot more success with the process of burying my head in the sand and ignoring it. Oh, I know they mean well and in truth I'd be a little devastated if they didn't call.

However this is precisely what ACWYS is all about. A place for me to articulate the pain and torture of aging. Of living in a body that has betrayed me by having the audacity to show the world where I've been, what I have eaten, how much stress I have endured, the number of years I baked in the sun, where physical exercise is on my list of priorities, and how many pounds I have lost or gained among other secrets that in more youthful years would have gone unnoticed.

The person or persons who refer to these years as "Golden" needs a lobotomy. Women my age talk about the wisdom they've gained and say they wouldn't trade it if given the chance. Then they clam up because wisdom is the only positive thing about aging they can think of.

What good is wisdom when you're standing in front of the mirror under cruel and unusual lighting? Or when you catch a glimpse of yourself in a plate glass window and need a few seconds to recognize who it is?

Are Cher and I the only people honest enough to speak the truth about this special time in life? Come on my Sisters! What say you?