Tomorrow

Posted on by Dana
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Tomorrow is my birthday. I am going to be 35, which will put me in a new demographic group of undesirables known as 35-49…ish. It means advertisers will no longer be as interested in what I want. It means movies, music, and television are no longer going to be targeted toward me. I am resisting the urge to quote Monty Python and the Holy Grail — “I’m not dead yet!”

I have a daughter who is in seventh grade. I am dangerously close to becoming the person who shoos the kids off her lawn; I already complain about their music and their clothes. I probably have more gray hair than not. I have a few wrinkles trying to start.

My mom and dad sent me an online gift certificate to Barnes and Noble. I did very well, coming in just 12¢ over the certificate limit. I decided on the following purchases:

Update: While browsing Barnes and Noble, I saw The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield prominently featured. I read some reviews and put it on my Wish List. It looks really good — and perfect for fall reading. Anyone want to online-book-club this one? Or maybe I should propose it to my student Book Club? Their first selection was — of all things — Lolita. It’s cute how they think they’re being bad by reading it.

On a more serious note, I want to thank all of you who came by and commented on my tribute to Eric Lehrfeld. Being a small part of 2,996 was one of the most amazing experiences I think I have had. I was extremely touched to be contacted by Eric’s sister, Elyse. I made some new friends and found some new blogs to read. But most of all, whenever I think of that horrible day from now on, I will always think of Eric and the family and friends who miss him.

Related posts:

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Could Have Guessed
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23 thoughts on “Tomorrow”

  1. Happy Birthday!!

    Good choice for presents. You will enjoy the golden compass, I think. I'm am soon to be 36 and I my favorite part of the holy is grail is also the I'm not dead yet scene. "I'm going for a walk now." It comes to mind quite often in my daily life. However, we are definitely not dead yet; so much left to do and with the little more wisdom gained in years to do them with. I'm actually a reader from steve's blog, (and although I am rather faithful, he hasn't a clue who I am), but I every time I manage to make it over here to read you, I enjoy what you have to say. Your eric post was touching to tears; I loved Ben and Noah; and Madame Bovary's Ovaries sounds like an interesting read. Hope your day is a happy one. Hannah

  2. Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday dear Dana! Happy Birthday to you!!!!!!!!! I just love birthday's. That means cake. I love cake. So go have a big piece for me ok? Have a wonderful day! Sue

  3. Ur a mere pup Dana – Happy Birthday! U sound like a wonderfully dedcated and passionate teacher – a true gift to ur students u are – i taught English at the middle school and high school level for 6 years in NY – 4yrs in the ghetto and 2 in upper middle class district – both wore me out so much i had to go into semi retirement at the age of 30 – I'm now a front desk clerk in a hotel and spend most of my work day reading ur husband's blog – but i tell ya reading ur blog always makes me miss teaching

  4. Happy Birthday, Dana! Welcome to my demographic! It's not so bad, really. I have no problem with less advertising coming my way. My only child turned 18 this July. I didn't feel "old" until that happened. Thankfully he's still at home with his ol'mom going to college. I'll so miss him when he moves on. Hope your hubby has something special planned for you! 😉

  6. Happy 35th Birthday Dana!!!

    Does your daughter love to read as much as you?

    I ask because when my daughter was in the 7th grade we started a mother/daughter book club. We had our 20th meeting a few weeks ago and the girls are now in the 10th grade! We have the most enlightening discussions.

    I love this quote:

    "Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers."~~~

    Charles W. Eliot

    Take care and enjoy your day!

  7. Happy Birthday to you, Dana. Hope it is a great & wonderful day for you, and wow, thirty five, that is a fantastic age to be. Mature and wise, yet still in your prime. Actually, you're just a youngster. I am currently reading "The Places That Scare You" by Pema Chodron, A Guide to Fearlessness in Difficult Times. So many books, so little time. I have read and enjoyed several of your posts and will come back & read more soon. Patricia

  8. Happy Birthday DANA!! Turning 35 was GREAT for me, although I was pregnant at the time. LOL Enjoy. I hope it's filled with love and laughter.

  10. Happy Birthday Dana!!

    I was going to leave you a comment on myspace, but alas, we're not friends!

    I've been reading your hubby's stuff now for a couple of years, and I've checked you out a few times, and I like you guys a lot.

    I'm also interested in geneology, and I love that we ALL have stories to tell, in some forn or another. Every little branch of the family tree holds its own little stories, secrets, and memories, both good and bad.

    And yet we hardly ever hear any of them!

    I really admire that both of you seem to balance careers, family, and your creative outlets pretty well.

    Cheers!

    and Oh! God! I wouldn't be a kid again, or a teenager, for anything, but to be 35 again, that would be pretty cool!

    Happy Day, Girl!

    -azalea!

  15. Dana. I come in here (from Wales, UK) sometimes via Steve's blog and really enjoy the everyday observations (I find it a nice, and sometimes much-needed, contrast!). I was a school teacher for a while too, although I teach at university level now. I'm glad Steve told us about your birthday, because I've never commented here, so its an opportunity to say thanks for being here!

    I'm 35 too. When I turned 30, someone told me that '30 is the new 20'. To begin with I brushed it off as silly (I didn't have a problem with reaching my thirties, although clearly a lot of people do, and had absolutely NO WISH (lol) to be 20 again) but then, the more I thought about it, since people are living longer on average now in a lot of the world, the more it made sense. On average, our generation has better health, myriad more opportunities and more time ahead of us at this point than our great-great grandparents did, so we can afford to a retain a 'young' outlook for longer, and to stop and smell the roses a little more often 🙂

    The ad and tv people are just slow aren't they- but they'll wise up eventually (let's enjoy the peace while we can!). I'm loving my thirties, primarily, as Naturalangel says above, because they = youth + maturity, the best of all worlds! Happy birthday and I hope you continue to enjoy them too!

    ElenaRuth (aka ERHW)

  18. happy birthday to you – cha cha cha – happy birthday to you – cha cha cha – happy birthday, happy birthday, happy birthday to you – CHA CHA CHA!!!!!

  19. Happy Birthday! Regarding your Monthy Python quote,

    I rememer a joke from years ago. An older person is asked by a young kid if they had lived in this town their whole life. Their reply was, not yet. Best wishes for reaching the next demographics!

    If 40 is the new 30, you should be anxious to get there.

  20. Happy Birthday, Dana 🙂

    I turned 39 this year, and believe me….35 is just boot camp for turning 40….

  23. Oh my gosh! How could I have missed this post?! I am so sorry – happy belated birthday! I think I must have missed it in my RSS reader, which is how I read your blog. Ack. Sorry again and hope you had a good one!

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