Being the Cool Aunt.

This year, I've spent more time getting to know my friends' children than I have ever before - and I love it! A lot of them call me "Aunt Denise;" most of them think of me as being cool. I'm probably not anywhere close to having a kid of my own in the mix, so it's good news that aunthood seems to be my calling. I mean, think of all the television shows and movies that had interesting aunts over the years.

One of the things that devotes me to aunthood is the fact that I'm willing to accompany my friends on kid-friendly activities. Need an adult companion to go with you to birthday party for toddlers? I'm there. But I think what mostly enables me to get along with youngsters is the simple truth I told my pal Kristi the other day - I act like a kid right along with them.

My Life, Like an Episode of Sex and the City.

I'm 33 years old and I'm single. If you're a Sex & the City fan, perhaps that's all you need to hear to understand a correlation. However, as of late, I've encountered a few scenarios that have really reminded me of my old favorite television show. When the show was actually on the air, I was in my early to mid twenties, and I had NO idea that I would be single after the age of 30 (after all, I had boyfriends galore at the time).

Perhaps this seems like a silly topic for a blog that I mostly restrict to poetry and philosophical pondering. And I'll admit that it is. But it's also a hearty shout-out to other single women in their 30s who might be reading this blog. I really hear you. And don't worry; all names are omitted. Also, don't blame me if you think this whole thing is ridiculous. It's just for fun.

Example One:

 I meet this dude who is my age and seems like a interesting cat. He claims to have a roommate and a pet - thus, single. I invite him to hang out sometime and we schedule a coffee date. Then, we get to the coffee date and he tells me he has a wife who lives in another city - they decided to live apart for work. Go fig.


Example Two:

Guy from college and/or friend zone: I've always thought you were hot, Denise.
Me: That's sweet. Thanks.

(Realization that we are no longer in college or he's no longer eligible and he lives several states away with children and a sometimes-girlfriend. Awkward silence.)


Example Three:

I'm at a networking event and run into this woman I know who just got married a week ago. I congratulate her and her new groom - then, the woman starts trying to set me up with some dude who works with her husband at Whole Foods.

Woman I Know: He's JUST your age! And SUCH a nice guy!
Groom: He's actually overweight and sort of unattractive. But are you interested?
Me: Check, please.


Example Four:

A friend of mine, who is married with kids, hosts amazing parties and I always attend - as the only single woman in her thirties. Plus, I always bring booze.


Example Five:

My roommate: Maybe you really like women.
Me: ?????

Up, Up and Away.

This past Monday was pretty darn exciting, as Mondays go. I joined my trusty photographer, Ronnie Martinelli, on the journey to the Mount Pleasant Regional Airport - it's a small airport for private aircrafts only, out on 17 North. Mount Pleasant Magazine is doing a January/February feature about it and we needed artwork to go with.

I expected that we would snap some photos of airplanes and be done with it. I surely was not expecting the chance to actually fly. But fly we did! Of course, I've flown plenty of times on regular airlines, going on various vacations. But this was my first time in a "car with wings," as I called it.

Ronnie had the front seat, along with our awesome pilot and instructor, Scot, so I crawled happily into the backseat and put on the obligatory headphones. It was all just as exciting - the takeoff, the ascent into the air - and even better, no awkward stranger sat next to me and no babies cried under the hum of the motor.

The morning was cloudy, so we flew a little lower than usual, recognizing the buildings, streams and beaches of the East Cooper area. I snapped a few photos with my Android phone, but I'm ready to see what Ronnie captured with his actual camera.

Scot let Ronnie do some of the flying as well. Ronnie was slightly nervous, having never flown a plane before, but he didn't kill us - obviously, unless ghosts keep blogs.

We landed safely and I bragged a little bit to Brian, who elected not to join the photo shoot that morning.

"You didn't tell me you'd be flying," he said.

That's the thing about being one of the editors at Mount Pleasant Magazine. I never know where the days, or the photo shoots, are going to take me.

Sometimes it might be right off the ground!