Fuck Off 44, Hello 45

My lovely friend Erin was kind enough last birthday to share a scientific study that concluded people don’t age sequentially but rather in bursts, one of which occurs when you are 44 (the second at 60). 

And I am here to vouch for the study. I have aged a lot these past 365 days: emotionally, physically, mentally, visibly. If you have been reading the blog for the past year I am sure you have also noted a slight shift in tone from wild and carefree to scattered, anxious and low energy. 

So I am happy to report that I am officially done with 44 and am ready to move on to the second phase of this decade. And I started it off right with a nice family dinner at home for my birthday and two amazing presents from Martin and the kids. I don’t put much stock in presents because I know I can be difficult to shop for and typically buy everything myself, but he truly nailed them this year. 

He got me a mug for tea that I had checked out at a shop in St Ives. I didn't think too much of it since I didn’t think Martin 1) had noticed or 2) bought it there or made a note to buy it later, so extra props to Martin on this one. 

And even better,  he bought me toasty pie makers for camping! Which is awesome on its own but even better given our most recent camping trip and the kerfuffle we had over packing a salad bowl. 

The back story: when we went camping the last weekend before school started, I made my normal list of things to pack including a tablecloth, hand broom and salad bowl and while packing I mentioned out loud that we needed to pack these items so I wouldn’t forget. For even more background, this camping trip was to be a repeat of last year's trip Martin took with just the kids and one where they had a great time. In contrast to my current year packing list, the previous camping trip required just the tent and sleeping bags and they figured the rest out as they went.  In Martin’s own words, last year was a bit chaotic but still fun; they made it work. My request for the salad bowl made him question the whole camping trip or at least one that included me. It was apparently becoming too much “work”. And yet when we got there, the mom from the other family who joined us mentioned that she forgot to pack their salad bowl but wished they had (thankfully we could share), Martin was the first to use the hand broom, and the tablecloth made our campsite the one to be at. 

So when I opened up the toasty pie makers, Martin commented that they were along the lines of the salad bowl (utterly not necessary) but he was on board and supportive. And that, my friends, is marriage… at least in this household.