Monday was a landmine…er, landmark birthday. I could gnash my teeth and pull out my (camouflaged) hair, but instead, I’ll take a look in the rearview mirror and find a way to laugh.

Years ago, when my 21-year-old daughters were in kindergarten, they came home and asked how old I was, in response to a discussion among their five-year-old peers. I told them “I’m 32 at heart.”

And I still am. A few times over.

Chronologically, I may fall into the “Vintage” category, but in my mind and spirit, I haven’t yet attained middle age. Fortunately, on most days, my body’s on that same page. But every once in a while, I discover myself tooling around in an Oldmobile, instead of driving around in the sporty, sleek red Corvette of my youth. There are a few peculiar things I’ve noticed about this inherited-not-chosen mode of transportation.

When you’re cavorting in a Corvette, you never need to cover the chic, smooth upholstery with anything… but when you do, whatever you choose looks stunning. With an Oldmobile… not so much. You must carefully choose your seat covering to hide the bits of stuffing that now bulge through the seams.

And while I certainly miss those sparkly, spikey alloy wheels, these all-weather, all terrain ones aren’t glamorous, but they’re certainly more practical and can go almost anyplace those racing wheels would go. They just don’t have as much spunk in their spin.

I must also admit the Corvette was a lot quieter, except for purposeful revving of the engine. My Oldmobile tends to emit a variety of unidentifiable sounds that makes one wonder what might need to be replaced next. Those sounds are often punctuated with a well-chosen expletive or two.

And while I wish the Oldmobile were less expensive to maintain than the Corvette, such is not necessarily the case. I spend far more now on under-the-hood repairs than I used to on maintenance of the ‘Vette’s external trappings of glamour.

Ah well, although this Oldmobile may never hit 80 or 100 mph, like the ‘Vette used to, I’m still toolin’ along, which is something to celebrate!

Image Credits – Rearview mirror: zhengdacool; Sports car: yoosillyone