(this is a repost of my blog from February 2012, just because I still love it and I can and I used the word bissextile correctly. And most importantly, because I STILL model many of my novel's heroes after Shane West)
YOUR NEVER TOO OLD
Read before you judge, grammar Nazis.
Yesterday I turned 39. I, fortunately, still have 365 full days until my 40th birthday since this year is a leap year. That’s right, God saw fit to make 2012 a bissextile year, *just* so I could have one extra day of being in my 30s.
Really the most exciting part of my birthday yesterday was that Shane West (um, er… "he who shall not be named in the Crouch house") from Nikita fame TWEETED ME! Actually, he responded to my tweet.
I ignored the your/you’re issue, because he’s SHANE WEST, people!! He has more important things to do than knowing stupid grammar rules, like looking all beautiful and intense. Plus, he has 90k followers on twitter but read MY tweet AND responded. And possibly filed for a restraing order.
Your/You're - whatever...
After reading that tweet yesterday afternoon, you might think I did crazy stuff like:
1) Giggled like a school girl
2) Tweeted that Shane West had tweeted me (but not, mind you, re-tweeting, like those two crazy strangers did. That's just weird. Seriously.)
3) Immediately texted my 11 year-old daughter to tell her Shane West tweeted me
4) Called my husband in the middle of a meeting and told him Shane West tweeted me
5) Told my father Shane West tweeted me even though he doesn’t even know who Shane West is
6) Took a screen-saver shot of said tweet
7) Printed the screen-saver shot of the tweet and put it in a scrapbook
8) Printed the screen-saver shot and framed it
9) Blogged the next day about Shane West tweeting me
You MIGHT think I did all that crazy stuff, and I probably would have on Thursday, when I was only 38. But now I’m 39, and more mature, so I only did eight of those nine things…
On a slightly more serious note, when I turned 29, a very long ten years ago, it motivated me to jump into high gear and get my dissertation finished so I could have my Ph.D. diploma in hand before I turned 30. And I did it, with just a few weeks to spare (I graduated in December of 2002).
I do not have any lofty goals as I turn 39, but I am making a list of Five Things I Want To Do Before I Hit 40. The list is still circling ‘round the brain but I’m pretty sure it will involve: auditioning for a musical, taking a hot air balloon ride, submitting my book to a publisher, and being able to execute one single pull-up.
Plus my personal favorite: participating in a flash mob.
Because, you know, it's like Shane says: your never too old.