Barley turns 49 (7)..

..and I turned 30. We share a birthday out of convenience. Michelle threw a surprise party for me over the weekend and I was honestly shocked. It was my first surprise party and I hadn’t an inkling that anything was going on. In fact, when people said “surprise,” I looked behind me to figure out who all these people I knew were saying it to. At the same time, my brain was trying to reconcile why friends from different towns and eras were all in the same place. Michelle totally got me, then forbade me from doing it to her.

I can’t really say much about 30 because it doesn’t really seem any different. I suppose weight is easier to gain than lose, and I spend more time talking about health care benefits with friends, but I’m living largely the same life as I was at 28. I take solace in knowing that I’m not as old as Barley though.

He’s aging fairly well considering the shape of his hips, and he’s become a good friend and protector for Ella. However, he’s going to be passing from Barley Roostopher to Elder Statesmen RooBar here in the next few months.