We fifty-somethings

This is a picture of my mom when she was the age I am turning today. It was taken outside the house where we lived out some of our most charmed years, at the address for which this blog is named.

My mom is usually the first person to call me on my birthday, but this year, it was my daughter who called at a little after midnight. She was up celebrating the last day of classes for freshman year. This is the first year since she was born that I have not woken up in the same house as her on my birthday. But she was still the first to wish me a happy day.

This picture of me was taken this week in my office, where I spend most of my waking hours. People tell me I look like my mother, but I see so much of my father in my face, especially the forehead and around the lips. My mom and I have the same eyebrows though.

The fact that I am wearing lipstick in this photo is a sure sign that I am feeling my age. I saw a photo of myself the other day and my lips were so pale, almost the same color as the rest of my face, and I thought, You could use a punch of color, yo. My mother, the elegant lady, would approve.