On Getting Older...

Forgive me in advance for what is going to be a bit of a "Jack Handy-esque" post. I mentioned a few weeks back that the reason this was the year to run Boston was because the race is a week before my birthday, and this year I turn (gulp) 40. I thought it would be a bit poetic to essentially thumb my nose at that particular milestone. How can turning 40 be all that bad if I had literally just run a marathon?

While I'm really not all THAT concerned about the number, it's still a milestone, as far as age goes. And according to conventional wisdom, it's the year you start falling apart. While I don't really believe all that bunk, 40 definitely has a ring of .... oldness to it. Kids think you are a dinosaur, and that you can't possibly relate to what they are going through. Bag boys at the grocery store call you ma'am. That kind of thing. Yikes.

Well, I'm over it, as of last night. My husband and I went to see Annie Lennox in concert at Boston Symphony Hall, and I'm now heartily convinced that it's possible to actually get cooler as you age. Annie's been at the rock n roll gig for a LONG time now - I was rockin' with the Eurythmics back in early high school, shortly after she formed the band with Dave Stewart in 1980. TWENTY SEVEN YEARS AGO! And she's not only still going strong, she's ..... AMAZING! She really just rocked the house last night - the energy in Symphony Hall was truly amazing, and she was an incredible presence on stage. One seriously cool chick, that Annie. One seriously cool chick at 50-something.

This concert on the heels of a similar experience last year when we saw Bonnie Raitt in concert, who I found truly IS the epitome of cool. The Queen of Cool, if you will. At 60-something.

I'm realizing that while it might take a bit more work to stay feeling hip as you start hitting these age milestones, there is really no reason you have to curl up in a ball and give up, just because of a number.

So, I still think it's awesome that I'm running Boston the week before I turn 40. But the difference is now, I think I'll be running to 40, rather than away from it.