Happy Birthday, Kim & Kay!

"Age is of no importance unless you are a cheese." (Billie Burke)

This quote by Glinda the Good Witch is listed several different ways, depending upon what quotation site you visit, but no matter how she really said it, the context is the same. Once you are an adult, physical age is not as significant as psychological age. I may be 38 years old today, but I don't feel a day over 26. Kim the Wonder Twin claims her age but I've never been one to stick to mine. Frederick, who helpfully tells everyone I'm older than I am, sent out a departmental email this morning asking everyone to come join me for birthday breakfast tacos and celebrate my 40th birthday. I think it's kinda nice hearing that I look much younger than my age.

I confessed to my sister that I hadn't mailed her birthday card yet. I haven't even bought her gift. Luckily, being twins, she hadn't either. "Wonder Twin powers activate! Form of procrastination!"

I always swear she is the evil twin but now I'm starting to wonder if our roles are changing. Kim has been a member of the St. Louis chapter of ACT UP (AIDs Coalition to Unleash Power) and was asked to join the local Queer Nation group but declined because she isn't queer (they later changed their charter to allow heterosexuals because Kim has such superb fundraising abilities), organized a demonstration at the 1992 Republican National Convention and experienced police brutality up close and personally, was arrested and charged with disturbing the peace after chaining herself and a few others across the doorway of a business that sold sham "HIV Negative" medical I.D. cards...at one point in time she had been to more Gay Pride celebrations than I'd been in gay bars. Kim has done the ultimate: Halloween in San Francisco on Polk & Castro Streets. She owned a riding crop before I ever knew there was a use for one outside of equestrian events. Kim was even in the Gay Games IV in NYC (1994)...I think it was as part of a table tennis team but time has blurred my memory. Fast forward 11 years and now she is the wife of a police man and mom of two, has mostly conservative values with a liberal lean to them and practices social work in an eating disorder clinic. I think it's safe to say I've been passed the evil twin torch.

So...happy birthday to the woman who: was born minutes before me and was the only baby our parents thought they were having until the nurse asked the doctor to step back to the table, enjoyed our parents undivided attention for a few weeks before I did due to my lengthier hospital stay while incubating like a featherless baby chick, hardly ever got caught when we were both misbehaving, easily made the honor roll in school, had her driver's license for at least two years before she prodded me out of my laziness by refusing to chauffer me around anymore, dyed her tail purple in the 80's (remember that trend?), didn't kill me when I stole her boyfriend (Ronnie Hall), returned the favor and got engaged to one of mine (Alan Ratliff), learned how to spit, smoke and pick a lock while touring the North American continent for a year with a Catholic international youth ministry team, is the only member of our immediate family to hold both undergrad and graduate degrees, because of the differences in our education now makes more than double my salary, is alternately the wonderful and hateful mother to Michael & Maggie (depending upon if they are in trouble or not) and who is the cop's wife clothed outwardly in respect and dignity and inwardly is wearing a purple boa and sporting a "Hate is not a family value" button.

I know you may not always understand me, but you love me anyway. Happy birthday. 1.4.3.