I HAVE A BAD FEELING ABOUT THIS!

Yes, the rumors are true, it's my birthday... I am officially as old as Yoda and not in half as good a condition... and it's Toxic Waste Day...


Does it mean anything that the city in which I live had it's semi-annual "Household Hazardous Waste Collection Event" also known as "Toxic Waster Day' today, on my birthday? Oh, I hope it was a coincidence... although we know from our Jedi teachings that everything happens for a reason, and there is no coincidence...

A long time ago, in a town 900 miles away, on this date in history, in a hospital that doesn't exist anymore, I was born...

Was it a big deal? I suppose... my parents already had three children, the youngest of whom was 10... so to say I was a surprise would not be out of line... shock was probably more like it...

I'm sure my birth would have created a disturbance in the Force had I been born in the GFFA... I'm not sure where I would have fit in had I been born there... Would Qui-Gon be saying, "Had she been born in the Republic...."? I consider myself fortunate to have been born in the US... but to be born a Jedi would have been truly special...

To have a special power, a gift, so to speak... and the training to use it properly, for good... to be bathed in the light of the Force... to give myself over to it, to trust it implicitly... to hold the power in my hand and go forth into the galaxy to do good...

Yes, it would have been the best thing one could be... unselfish, compassionate, dedicated... to always know the right thing to do, because of the power of the Force...

Emotion, yet peace.
Ignorance, yet knowledge.
Passion, yet serenity.
Chaos, yet harmony.
Death, yet the Force.

Yes, I can see my self living the life of a Jedi... or envying it from afar... they would most certainly be my heroes if I could not be one of them...

Sigh... instead I am a mere human, earthbound... I hold no special powers, I am ruled by my emotions, I fear death, and my most serious decisions revolve around which frozen meal to have for dinner... or which fabric to buy for my newest Jedi costume...

So.... What is Granny's point, you're all thinking?

My point is... I CAN'T POSSIBLY BE THIS OLD! What the hell happened? I should be a about 35 or 40 or so... My past is longer than my future...

But I don't worry too much about that, because I won't remember it anyway...