Remember those Oil of Olay commercials that were on TV when we were kids? Well okay, when I was a kid—some of you are a lot younger than I am. Anyway, the ads showed "older" women slathering the heavy cream on their faces to get rid of all their wrinkles and appear young again. Well, last week I officially became one of them when I bought my first Olay product. That's right: I'm old. As of today, I'm 37.

Now there are worse things than being old. When I was diagnosed with cancer at age 32, I wasn't sure if I'd even see 35, let alone 37. But here I am! And those years that I sometimes hate to 'fess up to when someone is rude enough to ask my age? It's so easy to forget that they truly are a gift.

We're celebrating today by spending time together. J.P. took the day off, and we're heading out soon to get haircuts. Doesn't that sound exciting? Then I'm getting a pedicure and we're doing a little shopping. His aunt and uncle are having a 50th anniversary party tomorrow, and I need some shoes and jewelry. And we need to find a gift.

Then (assuming there's still daylight left) we're going to the driving range so he can hit a bucket of balls. But don't give him a hard time about it—I asked him if he would, even though I knew it would be a real hardship for him (yeah, right!). See, I need to take some motion shots for my photography assignment, and I thought trying to capture his swing would be kinda fun.

I've already received quite a few cards (and some gifts!) in the mail. See that card right in the middle? The one with the balloon and the cake and the party hat? That one's from Soozie! And the personalized one with my name on it? Well okay, it didn't really say Sharkey—I had to do some creative editing. That one's from Pastor and Deb (hi Deb!), and it had a nice gift inside! Thanks guys! I think it's gonna be a great day!

This entry was posted on Friday, March 31, 2006 at 9:53 AM.