I had a birthday this past Thursday.  I turned 37.  Getting older means different things to different people.  Thirty-seven isn't a magic number by any means, to most people, but to me, it promises to be a year to remember.

What does 37 mean to me?

1. The year of 37 is the beginning of my late thirties.  Officially: 30,31 and 32 are the early thirties; 33,34,35 and 36 are the mid-thirties; and 37,38 and 39 are the late thirties.  I am now, when described by friends or possibly a police blotter, a male in his late thirties.  (sob)
2. The year of 37 will be known as "The Year Of The Graying Goatee."  I used to count one or two graying hairs in my beard/goatee.  But the other day, I woke up and the number was up to 5 or 6.  I know this pattern.  I've been through it before.  With my head.  This year my goatee will go salt-n-pepper.  A little plastic surgery and I'll be a Clooney Clone.
3. The year of 37 will also be alternately known as "The Year Of Freedom."  For those of you in the know, you understand.  For the rest of you, more on this later.
4. The year of 37 will mark the release of my first book.  It's a self-published book so it doesn't really count.  But it's a book that I hope to bombard agents and publishers with to gain favors and attention and lead to number 5 below.
5. The year of 37 will also hopefully mark the first of many lucrative "real" book deals.
6. The year of 37 obviously marks the beginning of my dementia, as you realized when you read number 5 above.  This is a problem I understand doesn't get better until you acquire some costly prescriptions to some TSD's.  Three-Syllable-Drugs.  Ever notice how EVERY good prescription drug has three syllables?  More on this later.
7. The year of 37 will also be "The Year Of New Beginnings."  In many ways, this year will become the inaugural year for the rest of my life.  I can splice my life into distinct time periods and this year is the beginning of a new and exciting one.
8. The year of 37 will be the year I move to the mountains.  I don't live there yet but I will.  I grew up in the Piedmont region of North Carolina and moved to the beach during the waning years of the First-Wife-Period.  Then I moved back.  Now, I will move to Asheville and the mountains of North Carolina.  The Smoky Mountains, where mornings are defined by a bluish smoky mist that slowly dissipates to reveal majestic peaks as far as the eye can see.  It's a magical place and the lure has been there my whole life.  This year, I will finally succumb.

What does 37 mean to me?

What 37 mostly means to me is that I'm simply another year older.