Lordy, lordy -- L. is FORTY!

Happy birthday to me.

We all got up late because our alarm didn`t go off, and I awoke with a really sore throat, meaning I`m getting a cold. I still have a massive sore on my lip. And speaking of massive, I weighed myself this morning, and I weigh 4 pounds more than I did last week. How is that possible?

And to top all this off, I can no longer say I`m "in my thirties." Without lying, that is.

In addition to being my birthday, it`s also the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, a holy day of obligation in the Catholic church. This morning, Big Son`s fifth grade class had their class mass. Big Son actually had a brief line to read, and managed to do it without either screwing it up or doing something weird on purpose to get attention -- can you guess which of those possibilities had me more worried?

I`m grateful that Big Son is already reading out loud in church. I`m grateful for my happy, healthy family, and all my friends, both old and new. If growing old gracefully means being grateful for one`s blessings, I`ve got that part down pat. But there must be more to it, because I still have a vague sinking feeling whenever I think about my 30`s being gone.

So I`m going to go to the farmers` market now, and drown my sorrow in vegetables.