Birthdays can be a bummer

Dear Annie: My 30th birthday is just around the corner, and it’s bothering me more than I’d like to admit. I know that right about now, people older than I am are probably reading this and feeling insulted and/or rolling their eyes. I don’t mean any offense. I’ve just never wanted to grow up. Even when I was a kid, birthdays bummed me out.

Do you have any advice on coping with this whole aging thing? Twenty-Something

Dear Twenty-Something: Make time your ally. The trick to this is taking up hobbies and pursuing goals you truly care about. You’ll focus not on how much time is passing but on how much progress you’re making. I’d also recommend volunteering with a local nonprofit. Being of service to others helps us realize we’re part of something timeless and bigger than our individual selves. Dear Annie: I read a poignant letter in your column from “Ann in Illinois.” It was about some abandoned dogs. I wanted to shed some light on how some strays become “abandoned.”

In 2011, I was traveling cross-country to a dream job. I packed up my old car with what I’d need to get started again and loaded up my elderly dog and two older cats, and off we went. When we were within a day’s drive of our new life, I stopped to let my dog out to stretch. But when I opened the door, one of my cats broke out of his kennel and took off. While trying to chase him, I slipped on wet grass and broke my ankle. I was taken away in an ambulance. It was a full week before I was released from the hospital. I checked in to the Super 8 that was close to where I’d lost my cat and used the last of my money to stay another week, hobbling out to the parking lot and calling for him. I was able to reach out to some local animal groups, which sent people to put out some traps in the area and put up posters. But he was never found.

If anyone reading this picked up a beautiful silver tabby with blue eyes and a crumpled ear in May 2011, that was my Mookie. I hope he found safety and love, because he was deeply loved by me. I miss him every day.

Marcia in Oregon

Dear Marcia: You’re right. One shouldn’t assume every stray animal was abandoned. I can tell Mookie still holds a big place in your heart. It sounds as though you were both better for having known each other. Animals bring so much love into this world.