4 Cents on Turning 29-and-a-half

It’s sad that after a certain age, people stop looking forward to birthdays.  As young children birthdays are second only to Christmas.  Not only is a birthday the one day a year dedicated to each individual, but there are also presents involved.  Also, each year that gets tacked on is a declaration of “I made it” and one more step to being a grown up.  And then you turn ten.  Finally, the double digits; a definite accomplishment.  Eleven and twelve are slightly difficult years where no one takes you seriously but birthdays still have that childish magic.  Then thirteen comes along and now you are a teenager.  Fourteen and fifteen signify the beginning of high school and learner’s permit.  Sixteen allows you to drive; seventeen has the best of both worlds because you are still a kid but close enough to adulthood.  Eighteen makes you a real adult instead of a pretend one where you can buy cigarettes, lottery tickets and porn.  I would like to say for the record that I purchased none of these on my eighteenth birthday despite the incessant encouragement from my friends; I just wasn’t interested.