Dance To The Last

Yet another birthday looms large on the horizon and my inner circle is abuzz with questions...About celebration plans, wish lists and the special gifts that will come my way..The countdown to the larger than life '40' milestone, which now hangs over my neck like the sword of Damocles...And, above all, if I intended to continue allowing the irrepressible child in my heart to manifest itself in my personality...

I am afraid most are a little disappointed by my vague responses and perhaps, more so by my nonchalance about the impending event. As the questions continue to stream in, I answer them as best as I can... all the while wondering if the listener has sensed that, at this moment, my birthday plans are the least of my concerns. This is not to say that I am against birthdays or anniversaries or celebrations in general. Or that I expect the rest of the world to slave their fingers to the bone in making it a special day for me. What does not appeal to me is the element of contrivance which prior planning brings to these special days. I would rather go with the flow and take each moment as it comes.

Over the past many years, what made every birthday special was the love and warmth that I was cocooned in. I love the fact that people care enough to remember, to call or better still to drop by for a drink and a giggle. I am always touched when they stretch that extra mile to do something that warms me to the cockles of my heart.And I enjoy the sense of anticipation a beautifully packaged gift offers me and the excitement of discovery as I rip it open..It doesn't matter what is inside...It could be a string of cheap beads or a ridiculously expensive solitaire...For me, what matters is the element of surprise, the excitement of the moment and the warmth of being loved.

So inevitably, year after year, when friends ask me how I plan to celebrate my birthday or what I have asked for by way of gifts, my answer always is none what so ever. I look forward to seeing what the day brings my way..the fun, the spontaneity, the discovery and the savouring of the emotions.For me, this is what life is all about. And I think I will carry this passion for life, with all its good and bad, right to my grave.

People tell me that everything slows down with age, except the time it takes for an utterly sinful wedge of warm gooey chocolate walnut brownie to reach your hips. I disagree. Age does not bring wisdom...Life and its many experiences does that!!!

At 15,I thought 20 was the Golden Age and just couldn't wait to hit the magic number.Unfortunately for me, life started at a snail's pace and by 25, I was a little panicked because I thought I would be semi senile by the time I hit 30 and was haunted by visions of myself rocking away aimlessly on the porch of a geriatric care center. But then life in the 30s lane have proved to be incredibly exciting. Probably because I have shed a lot of inhibitions, don't worry over much about looking like a fool and laugh easily when I do. And I am not afraid to demand love, express sorrow and more importantly, eliminate the weeds in my garden of life.

I find myself increasingly open to experimentation and new experiences. So much so that with my 35th birthday right round the corner, the only thought in my mind is that if the 30s are so incredibly exciting, then what would the 40s and 50s hold in store for me?

Would I dare go skinny dipping...or climb a mountain...tend a raucous bar in true coyote style...or swim with the dolphins in the deep blue ocean...Who knows?
For all I know, I may be skydiving at 60 or even doing the salsa at the ripe old age of 70....Because in my heart I believe that you don't stop dancing because of age...you grow old only because you stopped dancing.