Thoughts On Growing Older
In less than two months I turn 42 and I have a few thoughts on turning 42...
There are people who will tell you that you are only as old as you feel. These are the same people who swear that you are not 40+ years old, but rather 40+ years young. They are forever saying things like, “Aging is a state of mind.” All I can say is this...those people must have been born with some amazing genetics because they apparently don’t feel as old as I do. Yes, you are only as old as you feel and, at some point between age 30 something and 40 something, my body started to feel old. I’m starting to think of my hip bone, my low back, and my feet in the same way some people think of cherished family members who just can’t seem to pull their lives together.
There are stages in life when you want time to speed up. When you are a kid waiting for Santa on Christmas morning (or in my case...waiting for Halloween and all it's candy glory), a teen waiting for age 16 and a driver’s license, a young adult waiting to graduate from college etc. But when you are officially no longer young, you no longer wish for time to speed up. No, once you are no longer young, you find yourself wishing that time would just slow down. You see children that you remember holding as babies and now they are graduating from college, getting engaged and you know you should be happy for them and really you are, mostly, sort of, yes mostly but there’s still this part of you that’s all like "Why couldn’t you still be a baby?" You know it’s illogical, this not wanting children to ever grow up. But, still..the heart wants what the heart wants.
There are people who will tell you that you are only as old as you feel. These are the same people who swear that you are not 40+ years old, but rather 40+ years young. They are forever saying things like, “Aging is a state of mind.” All I can say is this...those people must have been born with some amazing genetics because they apparently don’t feel as old as I do. Yes, you are only as old as you feel and, at some point between age 30 something and 40 something, my body started to feel old. I’m starting to think of my hip bone, my low back, and my feet in the same way some people think of cherished family members who just can’t seem to pull their lives together.
There are stages in life when you want time to speed up. When you are a kid waiting for Santa on Christmas morning (or in my case...waiting for Halloween and all it's candy glory), a teen waiting for age 16 and a driver’s license, a young adult waiting to graduate from college etc. But when you are officially no longer young, you no longer wish for time to speed up. No, once you are no longer young, you find yourself wishing that time would just slow down. You see children that you remember holding as babies and now they are graduating from college, getting engaged and you know you should be happy for them and really you are, mostly, sort of, yes mostly but there’s still this part of you that’s all like "Why couldn’t you still be a baby?" You know it’s illogical, this not wanting children to ever grow up. But, still..the heart wants what the heart wants.
I don’t believe young people ever say things like, “The heart wants what the heart wants.” I’m pretty sure true young people no longer take tests using number two pencils, but I can’t say for sure. I’m also pretty sure true young people never say things like, “OMG I found a floppy disc in my basement. I wonder what’s on it!”.
When you tell a truly young person that there was a time when you heard 'errarrhhgrreeeahchzzz' for a really long time before you could connect to the Internet, they just can’t wrap their minds around it. When you tell them that, before the Internet, people read books and talked to each other in person, they accuse you of lying. After all, there has always been an Internet. True young people can type “k?” and not feel even the smallest sensation that there is something so wrong with what they just typed.
What? You’re feeling nostalgic? You’re saving that old sweater from high school because….? You just don’t know what is true anymore, if anything at all. When you are young, your brain works, pretty much all the time. It even works when you abuse it by staying up all night long. When you are not-so-young, people tell you to write things down so you can more easily remember them. But when you try to follow this advice, you write things down and then you forget where you put your list. Sometimes you forget that you even have a list. So instead you rely on a young person to remember all your important things for you. “Remind me what you want for your birthday closer to your birthday,” you tell this person. Or, “Don’t let me forget to call my Mom for Mother’s Day.” Or, “Young person with amazing young brain, remind of the password for the computer, will you?” This is one reason why you want time to slow down and kids to stop aging. If this child grows up, no one in your house will ever be able to log into anything ever again.
Oh, and let’s talk about nostalgia. That’s one of the most perverse things about being not-so-young anymore. You find yourself wistfully caught up in memories that you didn’t even enjoy the first time around. You find yourself looking at old photos and thinking, “Oh, he was so adorable as a little baby.” Suddenly you want to hold him again, do it all over again, go back in time, have him be a baby. You think of that time he threw up on you in the middle of the grocery store and you’re like, “Aw, wish I could go right back to that! Aw! So precious! Why did he have to get big?”
When you are young, you have no idea why not-so-young people say things like, “Youth is wasted on the youth.” When you are not so young? You don’t understand how young people could ever not understand this expression.
Of course, age is relative. When you are middle aged and you happen to have a visit with Adam's 93 year old grandfather... you’re a baby. When you are talking to teenagers, you’re ancient. So, no, you are not only as old as you feel. You are only as old as the person standing next to you but most importantly...
Growing old doesn't mean you have to grow up.
When you tell a truly young person that there was a time when you heard 'errarrhhgrreeeahchzzz' for a really long time before you could connect to the Internet, they just can’t wrap their minds around it. When you tell them that, before the Internet, people read books and talked to each other in person, they accuse you of lying. After all, there has always been an Internet. True young people can type “k?” and not feel even the smallest sensation that there is something so wrong with what they just typed.
What? You’re feeling nostalgic? You’re saving that old sweater from high school because….? You just don’t know what is true anymore, if anything at all. When you are young, your brain works, pretty much all the time. It even works when you abuse it by staying up all night long. When you are not-so-young, people tell you to write things down so you can more easily remember them. But when you try to follow this advice, you write things down and then you forget where you put your list. Sometimes you forget that you even have a list. So instead you rely on a young person to remember all your important things for you. “Remind me what you want for your birthday closer to your birthday,” you tell this person. Or, “Don’t let me forget to call my Mom for Mother’s Day.” Or, “Young person with amazing young brain, remind of the password for the computer, will you?” This is one reason why you want time to slow down and kids to stop aging. If this child grows up, no one in your house will ever be able to log into anything ever again.
Oh, and let’s talk about nostalgia. That’s one of the most perverse things about being not-so-young anymore. You find yourself wistfully caught up in memories that you didn’t even enjoy the first time around. You find yourself looking at old photos and thinking, “Oh, he was so adorable as a little baby.” Suddenly you want to hold him again, do it all over again, go back in time, have him be a baby. You think of that time he threw up on you in the middle of the grocery store and you’re like, “Aw, wish I could go right back to that! Aw! So precious! Why did he have to get big?”
When you are young, you have no idea why not-so-young people say things like, “Youth is wasted on the youth.” When you are not so young? You don’t understand how young people could ever not understand this expression.
Of course, age is relative. When you are middle aged and you happen to have a visit with Adam's 93 year old grandfather... you’re a baby. When you are talking to teenagers, you’re ancient. So, no, you are not only as old as you feel. You are only as old as the person standing next to you but most importantly...
Growing old doesn't mean you have to grow up.
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