Well, it was.  A while ago. 

I overheard a conversation the other night as my husband and I sat at a bar swilling red wine, passing time in order to arrive at a Christmas party fashionably late. Does anyone ever arrive at a party on the dot?  The woman, with her date-at a table for two- was waaaayyyyahead of us in the swilling of red wine department.  She very loudly said something like:   “Heeeeeey, it was my 40th birthday yesterday and that gives me the permission to say fuck you to anything I don’t want to do anymore!!” She giggled that i’vehadtomuchtodrinkgiggle with a hair toss and went on about her conversation with her date. She was not loud anymore, so I could not overhear, so I just watched her for a bit. Stolen fascinated I am not looking glances. Her turtleneck Harvard professor looking husband? boyfriend? had a red wine glow about him too( is there anything better than good red wine on a cold winter night?)..he liked her new attitude.  40 or not. That got me to thinking.

Personally, I think she was a bit older than 40-but you know how I feel about age defying, so who am I to comment?  We made our way round the block to the partry and mingled about in the HoHoHo spirit of things.  After a while, I noticed that same loud voice from before-and low and behold, a toss of the overpermedspiraledcurly hair- and there she was.  Miss it’s my birthday.  What are the odds?  She was still in her red wine mode-and defiant in her  “I cansayanythingIwantnow” frame of mind.  In fact,  after a quick, judgemental perusal of the party it seemed everyone was in a “IcansayanddowhateverIwant” frame of mind.  Is it the economy?  Are we all throwing caution of all sorts into the winter wind knowing it won’t matter anyway?  Is it the last desperate grab at hope at the holiday time?  Or was it just me-in my current- glib, bitterly cold and over exhausted frame of mind?  And do Holiday parties always make men grab and wear funny hats and women wear heels they can’t walk in with stockings that are  bound to run..and boobs?   Boobs on display at Holiday parties.  Oops!  These things- these “girls” they will say.  And we all know the longer the party goes on- the more people drink, the more “honest” they get.  I love it.  really.

In truth, I am more of an observer of these things knowing my observations will show up in a character somewhere-in a musing-a snippet of each to add to my cavalcade of characters……but an extra glass of good red wine does help.

Now on to decorating that tree.