I’ve reached the age where birthdays aren’t so much fun anymore.

In your 30s, the presents start to dwindle, birthday cake becomes more about the calories than the taste (and I love cake — see previous blog) and people are busy with their adult lives — often involving children with birthdays of their own to celebrate.

Let’s face it after hitting 21, the legal drinking age, it’s pretty much a downhill slide for birthday celebrations (unless you get excited about turning 25 and being able to rent a car without additional fees).

So yes, on September 15, I hit the big 3-2, and I didn’t really plan on doing much of anything. I didn’t feel like planning a party for myself, which is what you have to do as an adult, mostly because my house is a mess, and who wants to clean right before their birthday?

I decided I’d spend the day with my boyfriend and his daughter on a picnic. A relaxing day in the sun sounded great, but on the way, we had a change of plans.

Seeing a sign for the Knoxville Zoo, my boyfriend said, “We should go there sometime.”

“Do you want to? Right now?” I replied.

“If you want to. It’s your birthday,” he said.

As someone who loves zoos and animals of all kinds, I answered in the affirmative, secretly pleased with our spontaneity. His daughter was delighted and so was I.

We ate our picnic lunch and hastily bought pieces of birthday cake (Walmart sells individual pieces of cake. Please don’t ask how I know this so well…) on the way, and about an hour later, we were there.

Altogether, we ended up spending about three hours checking out the lions and tigers and bears (if you didn’t just say “Oh my!” in your head, go and watch “The Wizard of Oz” immediately). We also got to see a neat animal show, the zoo’s new komodo dragon and a slew of other animals — all while stuffing our faces with ice cream and soda.

By the time I got home that evening, many of my family members and friends had given me a phone call or sent me a birthday message on Facebook, and I’d had a truly fun day. I felt happy and well loved, and pretty darn satisfied with the start to my next year on the planet.

Bring it on!