Tomorrow is my 45th birthday. Due to my utter disdain for our previous commander in chief I choose to not use that number, and instead use 44+1 for the next six months followed by 46-1 until this day next year when I can officially be over that hill.
When I was a kid we thought of 40 as over THE hill. My parents made it seem like it was old. And with the exception of waking up on my 40th birthday with shoulder pain that comes and goes, I’ve never felt better physically or mentally. It’s kind of like that old bit from The Kids in the Hall with the hip and cool 45-year old dad…
I don’t know if I’m hip or cool. My daughter recently told me I dress well for a man my age. I suppose I should take that as a compliment especially when it’s coming from a nine-year old girl who likes to tell me all about the current trends. I don’t know much about trends, but in my 44+1 years on this planet I have learned a few things and come to certain realizations. Here are some of them:
Birthdays are way less exciting than they used to be.
You’re only as old as you feel.
Though, I do feel older after eating hot dogs, Chinese food, or heavy tomato sauces and not in a good way.
Most nights, I’d rather stay in, make a nice dinner, have a glass of wine, and get a good night’s sleep.
Morning exercise is much harder to do, but so worth it!
Coffee > beer
Spend money on your shoes & on your mattress. Your joints will thank you.
Speaking of joints, there’s nothing wrong with using a little bit of the good stuff to help with that good night’s sleep.
I have no desire to wear some of the stuff that’s currently on trend. None. Give me a pair of slim-straight jeans or chinos, an oxford shirt, and suede penny loafers any day of the week
Wine > beer
Speaking of clothing, I visited my tailor over the weekend and mentioned I had interest in obtaining a seersucker jacket for next summer. Turns out he’d made himself a navy tonal seersucker suit a while back that never fit right. He had it there in his shop. I tried it on, and aside from some small adjustments it’s a perfect fit and is now mine. Once I pick it up I’ll write about it.
Point of the story is don’t be afraid to ask.
A second point is when you get it in your head that you really want something, don’t just jump at the first option. I had a Spier & Mackay jacket in my cart that I was going to buy, but I didn’t because I knew it wasn’t exactly what I wanted. I waited and this one fell into my lap. Or onto my shoulders. Whichever.
Holding a grudge is like letting someone live in your head rent-free. I saw that written somewhere, and have tried to live that mantra ever since.
Scotch > beer
People in the suburbs put a lot of emphasis on their lawn. When I first moved here, I didn’t get it. Now, I get excited when I find a grass seed patch formula that actually works.
The music we love is now classic rock or classic pop, or whatever. And I now get why my parents thought new music was bad.
The Mets will make me sad more often than they will make me happy. And that’s what I love about baseball and about being a Mets fan. Yankees fans will never understand this.
Speaking of which, there's no shame in attending a baseball game or a movie or a concert by yourself.
Oh, and the Mets just clinched a trip to the postseason for the first time since 2016!
And any of these venues is still the perfect time & place for BEER.
I am more political today than I was as a younger man. Someone once told me anyone under 30 who isn’t a Democrat doesn’t have a heart, and anyone over 30 who isn’t a Republican doesn’t have a brain. Pretty sure that doesn’t hold true anymore. Or maybe I just don’t have a brain. Whatever.
I’m sure I can add more things, but instead I will leave you with this bit of Seinfeld wisdom.
“Well, birthdays are merely symbolic of how another year has gone by and how little we've grown. No matter how desperate we are that someday a better self will emerge, with each flicker of the candles on the cake, we know it's not to be, that for the rest of our sad, wretched, pathetic lives, this is who we are to the bitter end. Inevitably, irrevocably; happy birthday? No such thing.” ~Jerry Seinfeld