I read recently about a famous neurologist who became fascinated by the periodic table at a young age. He started correlating his birthdays with it. At the age of eleven he could say he was sodium, and at 79 he became gold.

I love that. I’ve always believed we could find the positive aspects in aging if we look for them. Heaven knows the negative points are obvious.

I enjoyed growing up with a rich cast of real-life characters around me. Grandparents, great-aunts and uncles, church folks, and quirky neighbors. I gleaned so much from them and loved having them in my life. I think that’s why I always include older characters in my stories.

This weekend, my husband will celebrate another birthday. Our actual ages on the calendar kind of astonish me, to be honest. Because, sometimes I still think of him as the heart-throb college guy who made me swoon in high school. But, I love the handsome grandfather a zillion times more than I loved the guy in platform shoes and bell bottoms.

We have a ways to go before we reach 79. And I have no idea which elements stand between here and there on the periodic table. I’m sure some of them will be fairly unpleasant. But, I’m confident in this: Every year, we are getting a little better together at this thing called life. And we are definitely going for the gold.

Happy birthday, Love.