My b'day...

Yesterday was my B'day.....and....

Once you cross 35, there is a primal awareness that you are moving from Stage I in life to Stage II and that the latter has a finite amount of time left for you to accomplish all that you want in life.

From ages 1-12 I wanted everything that my parents wanted for me (including the brightest yellow colour frock that my dad handpicked for me. How could you do that to me dad!?)
From 13-18 I wanted all those things that my parents didn’t want for me –that included a particular boy next door with a dubious reputation.
Ages 19-22, I wanted to conquer the world, with an effrontery that is unique to that age.
Between 23-29, I wanted to change the world –my way.
At 30, I began to change.
And at 37 I now want to accomplish my purpose in life.

I think at 37 all of us are fairly equipped to live life the way it should be lived –an adventurous journey filled with mystery.

At 37, you might not possess the innocence of a 10-year old anymore. I know babies don’t come from heaven, especially the ones that scream in the mall or the ones that ask a 100 questions during a family get together. But there’s still a child in you no matter how old you are.

You might not have the naiveté of a 14-year old. I know there are no knights in shining armor on white horses. Men hate wearing armor –“too hot in there”- and half the guys in the world don’t know how to ride a horse, let alone a white one.

You might not have the brazenness of an 18 year old where you say F*** nine times in a sentence that has only 12 words.

You might not possess the `I-don’t-give-a-damn-what-the-world-thinks-about-me’ audacity of a 22 year old. (It is true that what your boss thinks about you affects your promotions and increments).

You might not even indulge in `the world doesn’t give a damn about me’ perspective of a 30-year-old (You know what you think about yourself is more important than what the world does about you).

But at 37, you still have the zest for life, like a teenager; the charm of a young adult and the fire in the belly of yore- albeit mellowed, refined and mature.

Turning 37 has its advantages: Remember the time when you had to camouflage your Harold Robbins novel as `English II Non-Detail Text? Hah, at 37, you can have a copy of `The Complete Kamasutura’ in your study and people will label you as `evolved’.

At 25 when your friend cancels dinner plans, you sulk. At 37, you go out and dine with your gal pal instead. When the same friend asks you out on an impromptu coffee you ask him to FO with no malice and a sparkling smile. At 37, you don’t take things `personally’ you learn to take pleasure in every thing that life brings you. You value and cherish every moment and every relationship, because you are making memories here. And you believe that people come into your life, some might stay forever and some go away -but all have added to your life!

When you are 37 people stop clicking their tongues at your single status. They believe you are no more on the shelf –you have been moved to the attic.

As a 37 year old single woman you can bring home a baby minus the father and get featured on the cover of leading magazines in the country.

Above all –at 37 you learn to listen before you speak, earn before you spend and wait before you criticize. You realize the wrinkles on your face have another name –laughter lines. The number of lines near your eyes denotes the number of times your smile went all the way up to your eyes.

At 37 you are product of all those years gone by –mistakes made, lessons learnt and some forgotten, dreams dreamt some turned into reality and others shelved for life, innocence lost, experience gained, ignorance erased, knowledge acquired, thoughts and values shaped and reshaped by events in life.
At 37 you learn to try before you quit and you learn to live before you die.
Yes, at 37 you are well-equipped to live life.