Happy Birthday To Me...

Today's my birthday!

I won't tell you my age 'cause it'll scare you worse than Halloween.  I will confide, though, that I was born in 1957, way back when Eisenhower was President.  That means I was a kid during the 1960s and a teenager during the 1970s.  I lived through interesting and turbulent times.

A funny thing about getting older is nothing really changes.  Your inner core remains the same, even as your external body ages.  If you work on maintaining your health, then that outside shell can remain pretty stable, too.

A benefit of getting older is the acquisition of wisdom.  You shed cultural ideas that lack merit and focus on things with real intrinsic value.  For me, that's living authentically, treating friends well and helping people.  Social status has no value to me any more.  I appreciate who I am and don't need anyone else's approval to feel good about myself.

How do you feel on your birthdays?  Do you welcome them, dread them or ignore them?

I want to thank those of you who sent birthday cards.  Megan drew a handmade card that I'll cherish forever.  Tracy sent a gorgeous necklace I'll wear often (it's the first one shown below), and my friend M. from Sweden also sent me a pretty necklace (it's the second one below).

It's my tradition to buy myself a gift on my birthday.  I started doing this years ago when I didn't get gifts I wanted from other people.  Rather than feel sorry for myself over that, I remedied the situation by coming to my own rescue.  I always know what I like!

This year, I got myself something which is long, flowing and beautiful.  You'll see it soon in pictures.  I know you're not naive, so when readers say, "Ally, your hair grew so fast and got lighter in color," you'll realize what I bought myself for my birthday.  :)