32

It's more than just a number.
For me, it's part of the scenic route towards some awesome, unknown destination.

It's being able to wear a bathing suit, despite your bodily imperfections, at a kid's birthday party, because playing in the pool with your children is more important than looking like a centerfold in a bikini.

It's accepting the mistakes that were made in the past and respecting them from a distance. Never forgetting where you were and how you got to where you are.

It's about forgiveness. For yourself. For others. Because grudges are burdensome and they just get in the way. Plus, who has the freakin time?

It's going to bed at 9:30 p.m because if you don't, the kids will still wake you up and demand pancakes with puppy dog eyes and now that you have DVR you can watch late night "Whose Line Is It Anyway" reruns the next day.

It's being a psuedo-cheer coach for some teenage girls and realizing that every song you play for them is an ancient flashback that came out when they were in-utero. *Sigh*

It's being called Ma'am by the young grocery clerk who fails to card you as you purchase beer for your husband.

It's understanding your mother in a way you never thought you would, and finally realizing that most of what she did and said really did come from a place of love, no matter how dysfunctional it was.

It's paying attention to the wrinkle serum commercials that promise results without intrustive surgery.

It's flipping past MTV and straight onto TLC.

It's Low Sugar Apple Oatmeal with Blueberries and Walnuts for breakfast. Everyday. Because Dr. Oz says it's good for you.

It's about embracing the softer side of life and laughing at the mental montage of where you've been so far.

It's about replacing Cosmo with Cooking Light.

It's about Acceptance and Honesty, Friendships and Loyalty, Smaller Portions on Prettier Plates and walking past the Junior section with your head held high.

Because you couldn't pay me to go back to a time when I couldn't leave the house without a face full of make up and a pack of marlboro lights secretly tucked into my purse.

You wanna live dangerously honey?

Try going to Costco without mascara.

Now that's being a real WOMAN.

Hello 32!