I was reading through my birthday cards and most of them made some little joke about getting older and me still high from my post MRI new lease on life appointment wondered why we all have a tendency to harp on aging in such a negative way. I mean we're all getting older. And there's really nothing we can do about that. So I thought why not think of myself like a fine wine that gets deeper, more complex and tastier as it ages. And not just me. All of you too. What do you think?

I had my 2 and a half year check-up on Tuesday and while I don't like getting MRI's, not only is it freaky to lie face down and get sucked into that narrow tube and feel ice-cold potentially poisonous contrast coursing through my veins and listen to that loud erratic avant-garde tap tap tapping but I also don't really like my insides so scrutinized because it scares me, worries me, makes me feel invaded... and yet... as soon as the doctor told me (after 6 looong hours of waiting) that I was okay, I was giddy with joy. I leapt out of my chair and hugged her and the two med students trailing her and I whipped open my gown to show them my boobs (when they asked me to!) without an ounce of self-consciousness or shame that one was less than perfect. (I'd worn a new fun and funky bra with a pink and brown polka-dotted pattern that day and for a second my magical thinking mind thought that was the reason I was okay). And now? It's my birthday next week and I'm throwing myself a birthday bash Saturday night because I LOVE getting older!!

A married couple I know told me (and several other couples at a cocktail party) that they have sex every day... sometimes twice a day or more. They are not newly married. They've been together for more than ten years. And if one of them travels they make up for it by doubling up. The woman kept saying, "What's the big deal? Why not? It's free. It's pleasurable. It's legal. It burns calories." This confession sent a ripple of shock through the party and by the end of the night set up a neighborhood challenge. (More about that later... maybe). But I still can't stop thinking about it and I'm wondering what you all think.

Full disclosure: I posted this at the red room the other day and it seemed to really get people talking and that's why I'm cross-posting it here. Please join the discussion!

more about that tomorrow...

because Roxy (one of our 10 month old puppies) was hiding under my mini cooper and I was backing out of the driveway when I heard a yelp and caught her racing into the house (pushing open the back door screen) and I found her curled up into a trembling ball on her dog bed. Her brother Otis paced back and forth like the nervous overprotective sibling he is and I examined her wounds and called the pet emergency clinic and described the injuries and the shaking and they said to bring her in. Which might not seem like an easy thing to do but I was home alone and she weighs 60 lbs. and every time I tried to get her out the door she ran to another corner of the family room. Finally, about a half an hour later, I managed to get her to the back of the station wagon and opened the hatch and lifted her up and then just as I was making headway the hatchback slammed down on my head and Roxy's claws gashed into my thigh drawing blood. By then my son had come home from his friend's house and we drove her to the clinic and waited for two hours only to be told there were too many emergencies to get to her until at least a couple of hours. We left her and I kept calling to check on her and they said they thought she'd be okay but wouldn't know for sure. So of course I didn't sleep AT ALL and woke early and called and the vet said, "I think she's fine. She's been running around playing and wagging her tail since she woke up."

And now? She's home resting comfortably right next to me and I'm still shaking.

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