Today's Song of the Day Addendum

You Don't Own Me Anymore, Secret Sisters, 2017

Whereas I was adamant about ignoring my 50th birthday on June 4, my ex-husband turned 50 on Saturday and his current wife went all out for the celebration. We've been divorced 13 years so I was a bit taken aback by feeling so left out of this past weekend's festivities.

We've known each other pretty much our entire lives. Me being eight days older than my (former) husband was fun during the 17 years we were married -- it was eight days of constant "older woman" jokes. We have two children together and I still think the world of him but I have never once regretted my decision to end the marriage.

Sure, I missed being part of such a milestone birthday but this song reverberating in my brain is a sign from the universe that I did the right thing all those years ago. It's extreme, of course, because I never felt owned. If anything, my immature (hyper)need to resist any semblance of submission or oppression is what owned me back then.

You don't own me anymore ...

PS: Listen to the Secret Sisters, y'all.