Today I turn 48 years old.

How is that even possible?

I’m sitting here contemplating where the hell the last 47 years went. A few years ago, I cursed the fact that my birth year was finally mentioned on those commercials for insurance that begin “If you were born in the years…” and now I’m two years away from the big 5-0.

Suddenly, it dawned on me that turning 48 isn’t all that bad.

I’m still here, still breathing, still learning, still laughing, and still living. What’s there to be bitter about?

There’s actually a lot to be thankful for as February 12 smiles back at me from my planner. As a gift to myself, I penned the following list of 48 reasons why it’s great to turn 48. I hope you can relate to and enjoy my observations and lessons.

1. I remember when MTV played music videos and the names of all 5 original VeeJays without looking them up: Martha Quinn, Alan Hunter, JJ Jackson, Nina Blackwood, and Mark Goodman. The first music videos I ever saw were “Our House” by Madness followed by “Come Dancing” by The Kinks…my dad taped them for me using our brand-new VCR but not from MTV. Since we didn’t yet get MTV on our cable system, he taped “Friday Night Videos” which aired on NBC.
2. I can have ice cream for dinner and run with scissors if I want to.
3. I appreciate real, classic comedies and the good actors who played some of my favorite characters in Cheers, Barney Miller, M*A*S*H, and Seinfeld, to name a few.
4. I was alive during the US Space Shuttle Program from its first days to its last and witnessed the last Shuttle launch ever, Atlantis in July of 2011, at Kennedy Space Center with my own eyes.
5. I know who shot J.R.
6. I can complete one side of a Rubik’s Cube.
7. I was a guest at Luke and Laura’s wedding.
8. I saw every Star Wars episode in the theater even before they had episode titles or numbers.
9. I still get excited when the first snowflakes of the season fall from the sky.
10. There’s nobody who can slink around better to Beastie’s “Paul Revere” than me.
11. I know every word to “It Takes Two” by Rob Base and “We Didn’t Start the Fire” by Billy Joel. I learned them by stopping my cassette tape after each line and writing the words down. And for the record, I can still get jiggy with it when I want to.
12. I can outrun Inky, Pinky, Blinky, and Clyde.
13. I learned its okay to say “No” to anything that doesn’t bring me joy.
14. I have treasured friends who are honest and true. My memories with them go way back to the Barry Manilow age of Copacabana and to sharing a table in Kindergarten 1976.
15. And Speaking of 1976, I remember events that celebrated the Bicentennial of the United States, especially the fire hydrants that were painted to look like historic figures.
16. I feel a certain sense of accomplishment and satisfaction when I am finished mowing my lawn.
17. I love to listen to the birds, see the clouds, and feel the ocean and sand caress my feet.
18. Much of my life is commemorated through my collection of pins, patches, stickers, and little trinkets.
19. I don’t mind my wrinkles or my crow’s feet. Each line has its own story, and together, they form the roadmap of my journey to now. Sidebar: I really wish society and the media would stop telling me that there’s something wrong with my face and my skin and my weight and everything about the way I look. I’m okay with how I am, assclowns…sell your wares and your forced insecurities somewhere else!
20. I remember the joy of making out my list for Santa using the newest Sears and JCPenney catalogs and crying over the polka-dotted elephant because he was too cute in my eyes to be a misfit.
21. I have six true loves: my husband, my two nieces, and my three nephews. Oh, and maybe a seventh if you count Boba Fett.
22. I’m never too old to play with toys or to get a Happy Meal.
23. I believe in kindness, compassion, and doing the right thing because it’s the right thing to do.
24. There was nothing better than Saturday morning cartoons, especially the Smurfs and the Laffalympics, and I loved the Battle of the Network Stars. I can still hear Mutley’s laugh and Snagglepuss say, “Exit, Stage Right!”
25. No whammy, no whammy, big money, stop! And Higher, lower, higher, freeze!
26. I no longer have to refer to things as my “guilty” pleasures. They are my pleasures, plain and simple.
27. I’ve stopped apologizing for being human. If I’m sad, I’m sad. If I’m angry, I’m angry. If I’m happy, I’m happy. No apologies.
28. One of my favorite sounds is the ice cream truck on a warm afternoon, and I might be known to flag the truck down from time to time with my money in my hand just like I did when I was little.
29. My past does not define me. It might have helped form this person, but who I was is not who I am.
30. I still own a rotary phone and know how to use it. And yes, it still works and was the only functioning phone for days during Hurricane Sandy in 2012. I also remember how awesome it felt to finally get my own phone number for my 14^th
31. I know exactly where I was standing the moment I found out the truth about Santa, and I mean the specific table and seat where I was sitting in my elementary school library. Talk about disillusionment!
32. I can still picture the interior of the old Grand Union and Jamesway in town and the inside of the local roller rinks.
33. I remember the gritty sweet taste of Harold’s Cherry Lemonade on the boardwalk and can picture the little fishing game near the Harold’s stand on the way into where the kiddie ride pavilion was…that’s where Castaway Cove golf is now. I can see that in my mind as clear as what I see right now in front of me.
34. There’s nothing like a slice of Vesuvio’s with a can of Sioux City Sarsparilla.
35. The smell of salt air mixed with cotton candy and grease will always be the smell of home.
36. I’m grateful I grew up with friends to play with and a bicycle instead of social media and smart devices.
37. Four words: Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride.
38. I know that no matter how bad things get or how awful a day might be, it could always be worse.
39. I’ve never experienced another fear like that of the day when Skylab fell to Earth thinking it was going to crash right into my house.
40. I understand the value of the present moment and truly believe that we are all, indeed, just walking each other home.
41. Hardly anything of what I’ve worried about ever happened.
42. Saying goodbye is hard, but not saying goodbye can be harder.
43. I will always be excited when I go to New York City.
44. The crack of the bat on a warm, spring day is one of the best sounds in the world.
45. My soul is happy when I take the long way home.
46. A piece of sea glass and a shell are the best treasures to find.
47. I was raised on radio and still listen to it by choice.
48. This is me. I ain’t a beauty, but hey, I’m alright.

Time sure does go by fast. Embrace the day, my friend. Embrace the day and celebrate all that makes you unabashedly you, every day.

With my love and gratitude…

Jill