Life at that certain age.

We all have that number in our head. You know, the one that we think when we reach it we will be officially old. It's different for everyone, but I think it is safe to assume that it falls somewhere after the 29th birthday. It arrives long after the "yippee, I'm an adult" euphoria of the 18th birthday and the "Awesome, now I can drink" partying of the 21st birthday. It definitely comes on the heels of discovering that life is not all bubblegum and roses. It is mundane and boring and (here's the real shocker) average.

So I reached one of these "milestone" birthdays recently. And I was fine with it until about a month before. That is when I realized that the world in general believes that a woman of "a certain age" is irrelevant to her community and culture. Let me explain.

You see, we here in America live and celebrate a youth oriented lifestyle. We celebrate the young and carefree. Our celebrities are either young up-and-comers, or women who dabble in diets and plastic surgeries to appear years younger than they really are. You rarely see women in their 50's taking lead roles. (Diane Keaton excluded) It is the exception, not the rule. So you see why suddenly I felt not a whit glamorous or fabulous anymore. Fashion was suddenly being dictated to me by girls who can't remember the 80's excess or the real problem with 70's disco pants.

This to me is a big tragedy. Why is it that we celebrate these kids who haven't learned yet that relationships should not be temporary and that there is more to the world then owning a D & G purse in every color of the rainbow. I want to hear from women who refuse to buy into the lie that Cinderella's life is the one we should covet. I mean, really, every princess should eventually transform into a wise queen who governs her world with compassion, kindness, modesty and restraint, thinking of the well-being of those she loves more than herself. Where are these women and why are they keeping silent? That is the question of the day.

So my birthday epiphany led to a resolution. I shall not remain silent in this world that insists that I should live quietly and raise my children and grandchildren and not make a scene. Nope, I will make a scene. Me and all my "irrelevant" friends who also share this "certain age." We will shop for the latest fashions that WE deem acceptable. We will go out for dinner and talk as loud as we want and laugh as much as we want. We will close out any dance floor near us just because we like to dance. And we will laugh at all these silly teens and 20 somethings who believe that they own the world. Oh, silly girls, don't you see? We do.