I’ve never worried about getting older. I never feared the number and had no issues turning 30 or 31 or 35. Heck, when I started teaching and parents would ask me how old I was I would reply with, “would you believe I’m 30?” With a lot of time to reflect, yes, I was young and yes, I looked very young, but I was competent (not a great teacher, no one is their first year) and very willing to learn and adjust.

But this year, I’m almost 40. I was going to just start saying 40 because, really, if you say 39 everyone assumes you are 40. But I find myself not exactly able to say 40. Oh, I can at work for some strange reason, but in private, I’m hesitant to say 40. Maybe because 40 is twenty years into a career; maybe because 40 really is past having children (no, I’ve never wanted to be a mother, I still don’t, but 40 is the big risk increase so it is pretty much a non option even if I did want it) or 40 just seems very adult. It’s like recognizing that the 1990s were two decades ago, not one. Who knows, but I’m not sure I’m totally ready to say I’m 40.

Thankfully Bob recognizes that I am still 6 years old inside and has no problem letting me celebrate my birthday at Disney. We intended to spend the day at the Magic Kingdom then do dinner, spend the night and explore Animal Kingdom the next day. Best laid plans …. I managed to pull a muscle in my back at work Thursday, so wandering a park and going on rides was just not happening. But, we went up, checked into our hotel and had a fabulous dinner and saw the fireworks display.

Say what you want about Disney – they are a giant corporation that brands everything, gets lots of information about its customers and uses that information to make money. But I don’t care. Disney, for all it’s faults, does things right. They make the experience of being there wonderful and easy. The new Magic Bands? They are amazing. Room key, credit card, park admission and fast pass all in one wristband. Add a clock function and they would be perfect. The hotel? Even the less expensive ones? Detailed, comfortable and well thought out.

We stayed at Port Orleans this time (because Bob wanted the Magic Bands) and it was lovely. It felt secluded even though it’s in the middle of Disney. It’s well thought out, comfortable and very inviting.

Dinner. I’m sure I’ve mentioned one of my favorite places at Disney is the California Grill atop the Contemporary hotel. It overlooks the park and you can see the castle from most tables. John joined us for dinner and it was wonderful as always. We started off with sushi. Yes, I did sushi. But it was a pork belly sushi.

The pork was seared to perfection and the sauce was pretty amazing. Bob and John went with the goat cheese ravioli next

while I went with the apple and kale salad.

We also picked this incredible wine.

Ok, Bob picked it. California Zinfendel, organic and grown with no irrigation. Dangerous in California, but the taste was amazing. Long complex flavors and the palate changed as you tasted it. We liked this one so much I’m thinking about ordering a few bottles even though they are more than I tend to spend on wine. Keep a few for special occasions.
For main courses, I went with sweet potato gnocchi

while a Bob did the bison

and John had the seafood stew.

As we finished dinner

it was just about fireworks time, so we went to the observation deck to watch the show. Not only did we have a clear view of the castle and the show (my cell phone just could not capture it well) they had the music and character commentary piped in so you could hear it as well as see if.

Like I said, Disney does it right.

I start my last year of my 30s well. Great dinner, wonderful atmosphere and excellent company. I think Miss Erin needs to join us next year so we can take the leap back to 23 together. Maybe get Anne, Val and Emmie there too … Although that might be a touch dangerous. Anyway, I hope everyone survived the February snow storms and your weather warms soon. Your reward will be all the amazing flowers I can’t grow in a Florida – crocuses, tulips, lilies, etc.