In Praise Of My Own Decrepitude

May 11, 2007

In Praise Of My Own Decrepitude

On tap for this weekend: Saturday: Birthday. Sunday: Mother's Day. Its 100% about ME ME ME for the next two days.

Bout freakin' time, man.

And while I hate to be the one to break it to you -- shattering your image of me as a taut, vivacious Mom You'd Like To HangOutAndPerhapsShareACocktailOrTwoWith -- tomorrow I turn 37. THREE-SEVEN. That's, what, 322 in dog years?

WILL SOMEONE JUST PLEASE SHOOT ME AND PUT ME OUT OF MY MUSTY-SMELLING GERIATRIC MISERY? Please? I'll let you have a ride on my supah tricked-out mobility scooter!

[Note to self: pitch series “Pimp My Scooter” to Hallmark Channel and Lifetime Network. Oh hell, and The History Channel as well. Why not? I mean, they're a televised Aging Boomers-R-Us, right?]

Anyway, I'll be spending this grand weekend o' Moi with a man who has single-handedly managed to translate The Mullet into Menswear. Behold:

Business on top, Party on the bottom, dude!

Needless to say, I'm trying to keep my expectations in check.

But in all seriousness, reflecting on the passing of yet another year of my life as a mother, I feel pretty accomplished. I've managed to hang onto my sanity and my marriage, and my daughter is happy, healthy and thriving. Which I think speaks to something about how growing older reframes one's values, because ten years ago I wouldn't have imagined myself content in a life primarily focused on being a wife and mother -- I would've thought this somehow beneath me, a reduction of myself to outmoded, traditional role-playing. But the truth is, being a wife and mother have only expanded who I am, and made me dig deeper, grow stronger, and forced me out of a kind of myopia bred by a relentless focus on my self, my identity. All told, it has been incredibly good for me to escape that individualized, self-centered life, and develop other atrophied or never-used portions of who I am. I am better for it, I have been, in fact, empowered by it. The egocentric life is highly overrated, man.

Tomorrow I'm 37 years old. And look at what I have to show for it.

Its an embarrassment of riches I feel now, at this age. Bring it, 37, BRING IT.

Posted at 12:19 PM in daily, family, marriage, motherhood, parenting | Permalink

Comments

Happy Bday Tracey, you deserve a great weekend!

Posted by: Boutros | May 11, 2007 at 12:56 PM

Happy Birthday lucky lady!

Posted by: skyzi | May 11, 2007 at 01:07 PM

From a fellow May 12 baby to another: Have a wonderous birthday. Enjoy.

Posted by: Ragged Around The Edges | May 11, 2007 at 01:12 PM

Awww. You have a gorgeous family.

But don't forget, you are so much more than "a wife and mother." To many of us, you're a kindred spirit, a voice of sanity, or just a plain old jolt of humor in an otherwise blah day. You share a lot with all of us.

Enjoy your weekend, and try to have it be YOUR weekend.

Posted by: BaltimoreGal | May 11, 2007 at 01:30 PM

Awwww. So moving.

Happy Birthday, Tracey, from one who will be staring down 40 this November.

Posted by: slouching mom | May 11, 2007 at 01:57 PM

Duuuuuuuuude - my birthday is Sunday! Have a great birthday!

Posted by: Kaleigh | May 11, 2007 at 02:44 PM

Happy birthday!!

And also? 37? No way! You don't look a day over 25. For serious.

Posted by: Kyla | May 11, 2007 at 06:59 PM

HAPPY HAPPY!!! I'm with Kyla. Not a day over 25. With all that husbandy/daughtery goodness? This might be your best year evah.

Posted by: DDM | May 11, 2007 at 08:16 PM