Aging Gracefully

I had a great moment this weekend, but first you need the backstory.

You see, I was born in September of 1973. So around the summer of 2003, I started getting a little antsy. 30 was approaching, and, well, while I don't think 30 is particularly old, I sure didn't feel 30 yet. So I was musing aloud to Hurricane Miah, who had just recently passed the landmark herself, that perhaps I would be one of those women who stayed 29 for a while. At least until my oldest was about 15 and it started to look bad... then she pointed out to me that if I was getting older, but saying I was 29, people might be thinking I was looking a little rough for my age. I should just own all my years and be proud of what I've done with them.

Well, I took the logic a step further. So in 2003, I turned 35. And this year, I turned 40.

Now, for the great moment. I took the girlies to Waco this Friday to watch my friend Mark's deployment ceremony; he's on the way to Kosovo. Afterward, I went to spend the weekend with friends in Ft. Hood, one of my soldiers and his family, same ones I visited before but this time with my kids, and with his whole family there. Well, when we got there, there were a few other people hanging around the house. Including one of his friends, a soldier who I later found out was only 23 himself. This soldier - we'll just call him "Hottie" - and I were exchanging some of that verbal banter that's sort of one-upmanship and sort of flirting, for a good chunk of the evening. (We were also sharing Frangelico and Patron, but that's another story.) Somewhere along the way, I don't know how the subject came up, but I told my little story of how I now tell people I'm 40, though strictly speaking I was born 32 years ago. When he looked at me with an eyebrow raised, I said in a challenging tone, "Well that way people look at me and think I look great for 40. I mean, come on, don't I look great for 40?" To which he replied, "Sure you do. You look great for 30!"

*swoon*