I’m officially married to an older woman today. I, just a young man of 39, am now married to a 40-year-old lady. Now I know it is completely impolite to reveal a woman’s age, but since Jody made a big deal out of running her 5k this past weekend for her 40th birthday, I feel vindicated in my revelation.
I was thinking today that, although living in the Rural South has lots of great advantages, one of the distinct pleasures of not living there on your 40th birthday is that you don’t have to open the newspaper to an advertisement declaring, “Lordy, Lordy, Look Who’s Forty,” complete with the requisite exclamation mark and embarrassing picture. Jody has that to be thankful for today.
My family never made a huge deal out of birthdays when I was growing up, but all in all, I really like the concept. Everyone gets one, no matter which side of the health care debate you’re on. And the very idea is to celebrate the fact that you exist. Period. I like that a lot.
But today, I have much more to celebrate. On April 14 each year, I actually celebrate New Year’s Day, 1994, when Jody walked up to me at a high school basketball tournament in Jonesboro, Arkansas, said Hi, and changed my life forever. That was my lucky day.
Happy Birthday, Jody. I love you.
Minutes to Memories 