Ayuh, I'm 34

Well. It's here. I'm officially a year older. Thirty-four to be exact.
I didn't do much today.
But I did go out last night. Drank VERY tall drinks with lots of alcohol, and shook my groove thang at a rate that would have driven my children to therapy. In other words...lots of fun.

Today we drove to pick up the kids from my Mom's. And, of course, last night all Winter broke loose here. I kid you not. Mother Nature obviously saw me heading for a good time and decided to call in the reserves.
Oklahoma was hit hard. And it's still being hit. It's a balmy 14 degrees here right now. And on and off with the sleet and snow. UGH. Keep in mind I was wearing shorts about four days ago.
So...drove to pick up the kids...and lo and behold...there's a dog that someone dropped off there. He's a black lab/pit mix that's under a year old. Mom already has a dog, but she didn't know what to do with the boy.
Our dog, Star, wandered off. I say wandered off because we didn't find her in a ditch, and she wouldn't leave us for the blazing hell of it. Either coyotes got her, or she got lost. But she never came back. So we were sans dog.
And the kids were heartbroken.
In short order, we've decided to give black lab boy-Chance-just that. A chance. If he behaves, then he can stay. If he messes up our feline utopia, he goes.
The kids are ecstatic. And this dog is BIG and still a pup. So we've settled him here at the house, and I'm hoping it works out.

And something that I wasn't going to blog about, but I can't seem to get it off my mind.
On the way to the club, there were at LEAST a dozen accidents. We hit a particularly bad one on the I-40 and I-35 split. We were in the line for at least half an hour. And it was only about a mile.
And when we got up closer, there were lots of police, firefighters, and ambulances. And then we passed a little car. A compact. It was a light color. Maybe white. Or silver. It was pushed up against the side of the barrier, facing the wrong direction.
I wasn't driving, but I looked over and thought I could see a head slumped over the steering wheel. I was puzzled why there wasn't a police or fire person helping out. And I mentioned that to my friend. I thought the airbag has simply deployed, and the person was unconscious.
She turned to me and said, "There was a towel over the person's head."
And then it hit me. Somebody lost their life that night. And this overwhelming sadness gripped me.
It was a reminder. Just a reminder. That life is precious. And I was thankful for my thirty-four years, even as I was praying for this person's family.
Nothing is guaranteed. Not tomorrow. Not your next birthday. Not the next hour.
Don't live for your regrets. Don't tell yourself that you'll do it tomorrow.
Just live.
Live.
Crystal*