They say it's my birthday...

Thanks to everyone for the birthday wishes. :-) I had a nice day. I started by reading The Sunday Globe in bed, then heading off to a friend's house to join up w/ her and her husband. We walked to a place called The Washington Square Tavern, met up w/ another friend, and had brunch. I actually had a Mimosa--well, 1/2 of a Mimosa (which friend A. finished :-))--and a yummy breakfast. Afterwards, A. and I went for a long walk around the Reservoir, followed by my sitting on the condo building's roofdeck for a while, and then heading to bookclub friend D's house for his "I got into grad school!" party. Fortunately, I changed dinner plans I had w/ two friends, pushing it back an hour, b/c one of the friends, the boyfriend of the other, called me a half hour b/f I was supposed to show up to me she had had a "reaction" to minor surgery on Thursday night and probably wasn't up to my coming over (and he never called back again either way). This was no huge surprise--she cancels on me nearly every time we have plans (which is not often)--but it would have been a problem had I left the party or hadn't even gone and then had to spend my birthday evening alone. Since I anticipated this, it was no problem at all, and I stayed at the party til 8:30, then drove K., who lives a block from me, home. It was a very nice party--pretty mellow but conversational--and the only sad thing is that D. will be moving to Syracuse come the end of August and we'll all miss him a lot. T. already left to return home to Sweden a few weeks ago, and the two of them are the only men in our group! Nonetheless, both have moved on (or will) for good reasons, and I'm happy for them. We have bookclub again next Sunday, and I assuming I get the Richard Russo book read (meaning I better start it already! ;-)), we should have an interesting, albeit small, discussion.

So it's been a very pleasant birthday, filled with good food (though I didn't go crazy, and happily there was no cake, so I didn't overindulge), good friends, and good (brilliant, even, 70 degree) weather. I don't seem to be too upset about turning 42, probably b/c it feels the same as 41, and I stressed over that all year. I guess I'm over the stressing now. ;-) My sister turned 39 last Thursday and she said it's bothering her, mostly b/c most of her friends w/ kids are 34 or 35 and she's now no longer in her mid 30s but nearly 40 and that's tough. I hope it won't be as hard for her to turn 40 as it was for me. God, it was painful, and even the trip to Paris, wonderful though it was, didn't really make up for it (plus everyone on the trip was younger than I was, so age seemed inescapable!). But my friend L., in California, is 45 and just called and said that "Fifty is the new forty," so maybe forty is the new thirty, in which case I don't mind it so much! ;-)

Anyway, off to read. Tomorrow I'll continue my series on risk and rejection. It will be especially relevant for me, as it will be after a 2-2 1/2 hour audition. The fun just keeps on funning...