Pgh Lesbian Correspondents

Wednesday, October 22, 2025 is my 55th birthday. Woo hoo.

Manifesting My Destiny

My annual plan is to order myself a small cake from the Giant Eagle bakery (even though I’m very disappointed with their customer service right now – they make great cake.) Then I load up my all time favorite movie ‘When Harry Met Sally’ and am transported back to the hazy days of my late-teens/early-20s when Meg Ryan’s outfits were so divine.

I also decided to order my own birthday present this year and ended up buying two – a vintage thrifted pink Levi’s jean jacket from Etsy exactly identical to one that seems to have disappeared. And I noticed my wireless headphones were all cracked and uncomfortable so I checked Consumer Reports and found an incredible deal on a solid pair. They are pink. So is the case. And they were $30! Even though that’s a practical item, I’m counting the discount as a birthday win.

My friend Nikki invited me out to dinner on Wednesday, a little Italian place I’ve never been. And over the weekend, I’ll have dinner with my nephews and their moms at their house.

I don’t know what else I’ll do. And that’s okay. I feel really good that I took charge of my birthday this year. It doesn’t matter if anyone else does a single thing. I am so happy to be turning 55. I’m grateful for each year.

Life Span?

Here’s the doom part. The life expectancy of people with bipolar disorder is 13-20 years fewer years than the typical person. In general, our lifespan is 67 years. That’s just 12 years away. Now my bipolar is well controlled, but the looming reality of relying solely on Medicare for my healthcare without having much income to buy a decent plan is troubling. And those numbers don’t account for chronic anxiety and complex trauma – there’s very little data on complex trauma.

I’m trying to take better care of my physical health, but it is tough sometimes. I’m anxious about going for walks on my own, but I need to walk more to build up my stamina – I’m pretty lacking in stamina.

I certainly don’t want my lifespan to end at 67. Both of my parents lived into their early 80s. Three of my grandparents lived into their 90s and one died in his 50s.

Miles to Go Before I Sleep

But having a hard cold fact like 67 years does make me appreciate the years I do have, whatever they are. There are a lot of things I want to do – go to Scotland, take the train out west or into Canada in a sleeper car, get my blog archive set up, get my ears repierced, visit the African American Smithsonian History Museum (I’ve been to the others), go to New England, get a car, walk across a very big bridge, be invited to a book ban event as a reader, get an honorary degree from LSU in political science b/c of my blogging, have justice served, be a guest on a cool show on MSNBC, be interviewed for the 19th and maybe Ms., see more plays (not musicals), live somewhere with a view, get the PLC shed erected, travel first class in an airplane, adopt a dog or get a psychiatric service dog, sit in a Steelers fancy box, helicopter ride, ride in the side car of a motorcycle, find more long lost relatives, get a walking stick so I can feel brave, see a live taping of a good show, forest bathing but only if not appropriative, stand near a bog, have a housecleaner, volunteer weekly doing something important, retrap my colony cats for updated vaccines, create postcards featuring our gorgeous colony cats, visit extended family, and just do better in how I move through my life. Also, I want to meet my niece and nephew with all of my heart and reestablish relationships with my other niece and nephew. Those are my dearest wishes and least likely to come true.

I do not want to write a book, unless it was a compilation of my existing blog posts. No thank you. I do not want to revisit places from my past. I do not want to connect with my former lovers. I do not want to even think about dating or romance or any of that. I do not want to win awards I can’t afford to travel to receive.

Experiences, Not Things

These are experiences not things, you see. I have things. Nothing of value, but they are mine.

I want to embrace my life with joy and vigor. And yes that does include eating cake out of a bakery box while watching my favorite movie.

My Wish

I have to ask this – will you celebrate 55 years of me and hopefully more than 12 more by chipping in $10 to my legal and living expenses fund?

If you can help by contributing just $10 to my legal and living expense fund, I would be grateful. And perhaps we’ll make some history together. Or just preserve my own story so I can continue doing this blogging.

My birthday might inspire you?

• GoFundMe bit.ly/HelpLGBTQBlogger
• Venmo @Pghlesbian
• Paypal.me/Pghlesbian
• CashApp $Pghlesbian
• Zelle sitnscoop@gmail.com

This post is about my birthday so I won’t enumerate the many things I will need to pay for soon. The reality of being impoverished and losing access to many resources just pushes me closer to 67. I hadn’t thought of that before – I could lose many of the resources that make a long lifespan possible.