Birthdays

So, this weekend it's my birthday, and everyone seems to be hung up on the age I am. This isn't the big 4-0 or anything, but it does draw me ever closer to that landmark. I've never been bothered about my age, to me it's just a number, and I never really think about it. It only really hits me when I fill in any forms with those tick boxes, you know the ones with the age ranges: 18-25, 26-35 etc etc When I move from one box to another it does make me stop and think for a moment, but then normality soon returns. Mrs Zilla had tremendous anxiety when she turned 30 last year, so in 9 years time I dread to think how she'll cope. In my head I'm still only 23 or 24, and sometimes I act like it. Yet last night I realised that I have matured to some degree - having the children has forced me to act differently sometimes. I was talking to my eldest about the way he should deal with problems at school and found myself sounding a bit like my dad, but with a bit more realism and understanding than he showed. So thanks dad, you obviously gave me a pretty good grounding, but I think I've refined you approach. I also noticed last night that having got a sensible, family friendly car I am experiencing a lot less road rage from other motorists and my urge to speed around has almost vanished. I've also noticed that no ladies are interested in any man driving the car I do. You might as well have FAMILY MAN TAKE NO INTEREST painted along the sides. But then should I be expecting female interest at my age? My philandering brother in law has been through a number of ladies in the last year, figuratively and probably literally. He's one year younger than me, and I have noticed (IMO) that the standard he's attracting seems to be slipping. Someone told me a joke a while back: What's the similarity between men over 30 and car park spaces? All the good ones are taken, but there's plenty of disabled ones left. There may be some truth in that. When I think of my friends that are single, they all seem to have issues of one type or another, cause and effect.