Complimenti!

Yesterday, I was having a lesson with a young lawyer. We were humming along well, concentrating on question construction when he said, “how old are you?”


“I’m 37.”


“Wow! Complimenti!”


COMPLIMENTI! COMPLIMENTI! Complimenti is an Italian way of saying ‘my compliments’.

You say it when you are at a dinner party and the food is really good, ‘complimenti al cuoco!’ - ‘compliments to the cook!’.

Or someone says it when they see your hand-knit sweater, ‘ahhhh, complimenti, sei brava!’ – ‘my compliments, you are good!’.

OR when you think some one looks really good even though you find out that they are OLD,
‘37, wow, complimenti!’ – ‘37? Holy shit you’re old’.

And then this morning I sat down at the computer to check email and I had to get my glasses to read the screen. I’ve had glasses since I was about 30 but putting them on because I NEED them, that’s a first. They used to kind of just be an accessory, like my Jack Percells.

Now I want to tell you that I’ve never been afraid of aging. In fact, I’ve been looking forward to it. I can’t really explain it…it’s like I think something magical is going to happen when I have a full head of white hair. It could have something to do with fact that the majority of my friends are 15 -30 years older than I am. Who knows. Anyway, now that the first signs are appearing, I’m having reactions that wouldn’t really imply that I’m so jazzed about it.


I was looking through my stash for some yarn to start a new knitting project.

On top of the pile was this beautiful New Zealand wool/silk stuff brought to me in Italy via the USA from my mom. I thought immediately of the recent Knitters’ Review article about the one skein shawl.

A shawl? Ahhhh, what the hell, by the time I finish it, it will go stunningly with my hair.