Happy Birthday To ME!

I've decided to pretend turning 36 is the best thing ever. Starting right now. (Because secretly it's not, you know. I'm closer to 40 than 30. And it takes me two hours every morning to not look like I just woke up. In ten years I will have permanent bed face. But whatever - my birthday is awesome.)

Here I am with my beautiful, young Mommy. I look about six months old here. I was born on a Friday afternoon. It was probably almost dark by the time my parents headed to the hospital, because my birthday is The Shortest Day of the Year. (No short jokes. They've all been done.)

I came home to a life-long best friend, my sister Jennie. Every December 21st and 22nd, Jen and I are the "same age." We used to like to go out together on the 22nd and look for opportunities to tell people we were the same age. Tricky! When we were kids, Jen figured out that 21 comes before 23, which meant I was older than her. She let me boss her around for a few days until she discovered that 1972 comes before 1973. Ha! Look how the same we are (not):
Having a December birthday is not the end of the world. Sure you don't get a birthday party at school ON your birthday and sometimes your presents are wrapped in Christmas paper. And sometimes when you're turning 20 and your older sister is getting married your Mom forgets all about your birthday and almost crashes the car when she remembers. Seriously - everyone overcompensates and they remember to wish me a happy birthday. And what a beautiful time of year, too!
Enjoy some fun facts about the olden days, otherwise known as the year I was born:

1. A loaf of bread cost $.28
2. The average cost of a brand new Ford Automobile was $3,950.00
3. The average annual income was $12,965
4. A gallon of gas cost $.40
5. The number one song in America for the year 1973 was "Killing Me Softly with His Song"
6. The movie that won Best Picture for 1973 was "The Sting"
7. The Oakland A's won the World Series
8. Miami won Super Bowl VII (I almost threw up just now - that was only the seventh Super Bowl?!)
9. Richard Nixon was President of the United States, but the Watergate investigation was in full swing.

That's all for now. It's not quite a list of ten, but I'm old and tired and Bridget keeps telling me it's time to do polish. I haven't been boss since those few days when I was a kid. Sad.