I have a friend who is a smidge older than I am. At one point in our lives, this would have been a huge advantage for her:

Friend: Well, we have to play my way, because I am 9 and you are only 8.

Me: But I am almost 9. I will be nine in only one year. So then we will both be 9.

Friend: Nope. When you are 9, I will be 10. I am the oldest, and you have to listen to me.

Me: I don’t want to play. I’m going home.

But in the strange twist of fate we call aging, the tables have now turned.

Me: It’s my birthday soon. Didn’t you already have yours?

Friend: Ha, ha.

Me: But you did, right? Right? If I recall correctly, you were born before I was even conceived.

Friend: You’re not my friend anymore, really, you never have been. I’m going home.

Happy Birthday to both of us. She’s always been older, but also wiser and prettier. So, you know, it all works out in the end. Thank goodness for friends like her.

-Kirsetin