I am my mother's daughter: A birthday tribute

Tonight we are celebrating my mom's birthday. Just like me, she began celebrating her birthday days before the actual day. My aunts are hosting an all-girls party tonight. Then she'll continue celebrating throughout next week as she and my dad are on their cruise. I'm known to drag out my celebration for every big birthday- 25, 26, 27,... However, my mom is more entitled to her month long celebration. On August 20th, she will turn 50.
When it comes to money or carats, bigger numbers are always better. But when it comes to age, most people dread the big numbers. But what does the number of your age really mean? Is it a reflection of your true age? Not really. In the same way most people think I'm barely legal to drink, my mom hardly looks old enough to have two daughters who can legally drink. There has been a time or two when people ask if she is our older sister. The look of shock each time someone learns she is our mom, not our sister, is enough to take years away from the looming 50.
So in the same way I say, "Thirties are the new twenties," I say it is time to redefine fifty. After all, it is only a number. Why let it define you?
F- Fifty and Fabulous: Live life that way
I- Interesting: You radiate with your life experience
F- Forty plus 10: If you feel forty, then be forty
T- Tittilating: You are more sexy and charming with each year
Y- Youthful: Recapture all that makes you feel young
Happy Birthday, Mom!