« Tis the season | Main | Car Trouble! »
February 13, 2007
Happy Birthday To Me
Honestly? I'd rather be 34.
So my birthday was last week. Normally, I adore birthdays. The cake, the presents, the cards. I love it all.
Well, I love almost all of it. Sometimes it can be a bit daunting to see the new number you’re assigned to for the next year. When I turned 29, for example, I found the looming number 30 to be so disquieting, that I ended up writing a book about it.
Birthdays 31 through 33 weren’t so bad. I was still in my early 30’s, which sounded young and hip. 34 was a bit disconcerting, if only because it meant that I had officially hit my mid-30’s.
But this year, I turned 35. And 35? Not a fun number.
Are you feeling birthday happy or sad? my sister emailed me.
Well, I'm 35, which means that all of my eggs have suddenly shriveled up inside of me, I responded grumpily, feeling very sorry for myself.
No, I’m not pregnant. And I don’t have any immediate plans to get pregnant. But I am suddenly all too aware that my fertile years will not be around forever. Now that I'm 35, if I were to get pregnant, I’d be an old mom. Or what the doctors like to call, Advanced Maternal Age, considering this to be more p.c. than the terms Elderly Primigravida, Post-Mature, and – my personal favorite – Obstetrically Senescent.
I mean, honestly . . . why don't they just call it The Barren Old Crone syndrome?
And, yes, I know there are tons of women out there who go on to have babies in their late 30’s, or even early 40’s, with no complications or difficulties. But then there are those who can’t . . . which makes the number 35 suddenly feel like an awful lot of pressure. It’s not so much that my biological clock is ticking . . . more that I just noticed that it’s in need of a new battery and the glass front is scratched and the snooze button has gotten stuck.
So what new birthday number was the hardest for you to face?
Posted by Whitney at 10:22 AM | Comments (10)
Comments
I used to worry about 30, then 35 (and the rest, lol), but these days it's more my children's ages that freak me a bit...Teenager #1 recently became NotTeenager #1, sigh.
Posted by: Michelle C at February 13, 2007 11:05 AM
30 was hard for me. I had to go to Vegas with a bunch of friends and party my birthday away. It was harder to realize that I was 30 and childless. I'm now 31 and still childless but will be getting "the call" at any time telling us our baby has been born in Guatemala! But it's still sad to think I'll be 32 before I get my baby home. BLECH!
Posted by: Cameo at February 13, 2007 2:16 PM
Cameo - I'm so, so sorry. On the positive side, we're all rooting for you for "the call."
Hugs,
Michelle
Posted by: Michelle C at February 13, 2007 5:00 PM
35 will be hard for me for exactly the same reasons. I do have a beautiful son, but also know that he will probably be my ONLY. (If I was "high risk" at 25, 35 ain't gonna make it much better, huh?)
and 34 for me is in just under 6 weeks, so 35 is looming in the not-too-distant future.
*sigh*
Cameo, my friend just got her call today, so I hope you get yours VERY soon!!!!
Posted by: Jen at February 13, 2007 6:11 PM
20 came as a bit of a shock because I realized that I could no longer blame things on being a teenager. And then 31 because I was offically "thirtysomething" and not just 30 any more. Interestingly enough, 40 didn't bother me. I will admit, though, that I'm having a hard time wrapping my mind around 44, which is approaching next month. I mean, how did that happen??? Wasn't I just 38?
On the plus side, Whit, my eggs were old before I had the kidlet, being 35 when I got married and then immediately pregnant (1 month and 2 days after the wedding) and 36 when he was born. The fact that we didn't have more didn't really have to do with my age so much as the nearly dying while pregnant. :P
Posted by: Dia ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.literarychicks.com/nav-commenters.gif)
at February 13, 2007 6:30 PM
And suddenly TypeKey thinks I've never posted before. Even though I'm signed in. Much weirdness...
Posted by: Dia at February 13, 2007 6:31 PM
Gee-not sure if I really want to tell you but 35 was my dreaded birthday.I know it was only because I had made that the drop dead age for some goals ---such as becoming a mother.
The day of my 35th birthday. I was miserable and anyone who knew me and loved me was miserable if they acknowledged that was my special day.It came and went today at age 50, I am a mother of many just not any children that belong to me. I love my life and every since that one birthday I have celebrated them and loved them. I had always been one who thought people should enjoy their birthday because it was their special day.
Each year life is what we make of it---so enjoy this year and each one that follows.
So go out do something special for YOU. Enjoy your day.
Posted by: Vickie at February 13, 2007 8:31 PM
Happy Birthday, Whit! I had a minor freakout when I was 26 and realized I was only 39 months away from 30. I specifically remember that - 39 months. I was 26. Total idiot.
Cameo - I have a friend who is getting a Guatamalan baby, too. It's so wonderful; congratulations!! Hope you get the call soon!
Posted by: Lani at February 13, 2007 10:08 PM
Okay, this is really stupid, but my worst birthday was 25. I walked around all day crying. I was a QUARTER OF A CENTURY OLD, for God's sake!! Practically dead!! And I hadn't yet cured cancer or written the Great American Novel or done anything, really, but gotten enrolled and partway through a PhD program I hated. So I packed up a U-Haul in the middle of the night and when dawn hit, I left the PhD program, the crappy apartment, the state of Wisconsin, and headed for a different life. Makes me LOL now. 25??? sheesh.
Posted by: Alesia Holliday at February 14, 2007 10:24 AM
I turned 34 in October. And all of a sudden I was like I'm 34?????? When did this happen? How did this happen? Once in a while I say to my boyfriend, "35, I'm going to be 35 this year." And I turn to him for support. At which point he usually says, "Hey, that's half-way to seventy." Then I remind him that he's older than me and he should just shut up.
I thought my biological clock had stopped ticking. After all, I'm the mom of three. My tubes are tied. And then I just spent three days in the maternity ward (abdominal surgery and that's where they put me) and all I could think about was babies. And untying my tubes. Or maybe being one of those miracle births that happen, despite the tied tubes.
And then they took away the morphine drip and my three children came to visit their old mom and began to bicker RIGHT IN MY HOSPITAL ROOM. And I came to my senses. Rather quickly.
35 this year. I'm not looking forward to being half way to seventy. :(
By the way, I read "Testing Kate" while I was being tested (to determine that I needed this surgery) and it was fabulous.
Posted by: laurenjharwood at February 15, 2007 10:55 AM
