July 26, 2007
Milestones, open doors, and promises
Thanks to all of you who wrote to wish The Three Tomatoes a happy birthday. As we mentioned last week, this tomato was celebrating one with a big
fat zero. Now last time we had a big zero birthday, we were in denial, went into hiding, and told anyone who had any thought
of throwing us a celebration of any sort that we would put a hex on them for life. Well this go-around, we decided to embrace that
big fat zero and celebrate. And celebrate we did, surrounded by family and great friends. We were
toasted, but mostly roasted (seems most of our friends think we should never be allowed behind the wheel of any moving vehicle).
But here’s what we learned. It is way more fun, and much less painful to celebrate these milestones with the
people you care about most -- especially those who are older than you, and yes, there are still a few of you left out there. But
thank goodness we don’t have to think about this for another decade, and if we make it to that milestone, we will celebrate in an even bigger
way!
Closed Doors, Opened Doors
But birthdays, especially those milestone ones, get you pondering about
what’s important and what isn’t, what’s good about getting older and what’s yucky. Well on the
yucky side, we’re right there with Nora Ephron in the hating our neck thing, along with various other body parts. And we
definitely require way more maintenance than we did when we were younger. But the yuckiest thing is the realization that there are
a lot of doors closed. And at this phase in our lives, contrary to popular wisdom, a new door does not open for every door
that closes. So we’ve accepted the fact that we’ll never be ballerinas, cabaret singers, head of a fortune 500
company, or fire fighters. Although we sure wouldn’t mind hanging out with the fire fighters -- hey we can still dream!
So, our thinking is we have to take full advantage of those doors that are still open. Like the door that says
“go where you’ve never dared go before, like skinny dipping”. And the door that says “live, laugh, and
be happy like it’s your job”. And the door that says "surround yourself with the people and things that lift
your spirits and bring you joy", and get rid of the people who bring you down with their negativity . You know, the ones who always find a way
to take the wind out of your sails. And get rid of the things that clutter your life – duh, it’s about time we figured
that out. So here are some of the things we’ve promised ourselves to do this year.
Promises
1. Be kids: While we
fully embrace the fact that we are women “who aren’t kids”, that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy the things that make
us feel like kids. When was the last time you played hop scotch , jacks, twirled a hula hoop, laid in the grass
on a blanket looking at the stars, went skinny dipping, or were just plain silly?
2. Learn something new: In recent
years it’s been scuba diving, Spanish (albeit poorly), and singing (hmmm) . This year we’re
actually taking a boating course, which definitely strikes terror in the hearts of those who’ve experienced our driving
skills. And we’re thinking about belly dancing lessons too. Oh, and maybe an art history class
(hey we have some depth.)
3. Keep our friends
closer: We’re going to make more time for the friends we cherish and who cherish us back, and we’re
just going to steer clear (or close our ears) to the negative ones. And we’re going to stop making the
one sided efforts with the “friends” who don’t make any effort at all. Honestly, life is just too
short.
4. Minimize: We’re going
to rid our house of junk and clutter -- but of course shoes, handbags, and clothes do not count.
5. More La Dolce Vita: We’re
going to laugh a lot, cry a little, stop counting every calorie, and enjoy every last drop of those martinis.
So here’s to birthdays, the big ones and the in-between ones, and
here’s to going fearlessly through the rest of those open doors.
‘til next week,
The Three Tomatoes
Copyright ©2007. The Three Tomatoes. All rights
reserved.
