Turning 28 and other silly things

I am not a huge fan of birthdays.

Truth be told, it is really just the successful completion of a free trip around the sun without getting yourself killed. The added nuances of another increment to one's years are tough to negotiate with. And when it is one in the late twenties, it gets even more tricky.

Yesterday was one such day for me. Before I go on, it is good to be out of the 27 club. Hey! I am no musical prodigy but one can never know. But club 28 isn't a bed of roses either. There is a lot of utterances of the M word. Or the Sh word if you are in India. Entirely maddening. Everyone is watching Game of Thrones. Everyone tells you you've got to watch it too. Everyone's getting married. Everyone tells you you should too. Except that the latter would last till S69E1080. 

I remember the listicles that spurred me on a couple of years ago, and realize I am barely at halfway mark on the 25 things to do before 25. And perhaps, there are three more on that list now that I don't even know about. I scroll through nostalgic videos on Facebook which talk about the life of a 90s kid and, to my sheer horror, it registers that I am, technically, not even a 90s kid.

But, I am done with the book I was planning to write. No wait, I am actually done with it - like the idea itself. So, now I need new inspiration. Read more to write more, they tell you. I am lagging behind by almost 50% on a very modest Goodreads annual challenge. So, that doesn't look very good either.

And then there's work and the larger career goals. Where is this going? I totally think the crazy race to make it big and be all sorted in your twenties is insane but it's real and it's happening. So, either one gracefully exits the race track or else you run. Of course, at 28, I still have a fair shot at all those 30 under 30 lists. LOL, JK.

But amidst all this, you come home to a fabulous home-made cake, a hand-made card and loads of smiles and hugs. Your friends take out time from their equally crazy lives to wish you. And make sure they do their bit to make you feel special (even if that ends with a lot of cake in your hair).

And you know you will live through this and live well.