Signs of the Times

You know that moment when you stop and realize that you just did or said something that so much like your mother that is frightened you? Do you know why this is such a startling discovery? It’s because not only are you turning into the person that you swore you would never be like, but it also is a sign that you are getting old. In my opinion, getting “old” is hugely mental. You hear people say all of the time that they never feel their age, or they’re young at heart. Sometimes when I stop and think about what my actual chronological age is, it makes me step back because, 1) I don’t know where the time has gone, and, 2) I have yet to do anything truly substantial with my life. According to Stats Canada, 25 years ago, someone my age would be at least 3 years into marriage with a kid or two running around the house. Then again, life expectancy was only at about 58 years.



The reasoning as to why this topic came to be occurred a couple days ago when my friend said that she knew that she was getting old because she found herself really enjoying watching political debates (must be election time again here in Canada). Yes, there are many younger people who enjoy watching these long and drawn-out televised events but mostly they are reserved for the older populations. WAIT! Am I in that population now? Crap, I am.

My response to her was that I knew that I was getting old because I have gotten to the point where I don’t care if someone sees me get changed in the change room at the gym. I remember being a young girl at the Aquatic Center and seeing all of these old women walking around carelessly with their droopy boobs and hanging bellies, and thinking, “Don’t they realize that everyone can see them?” Now I don’t care who sees me. Nonchalantly naked is the term I have become.

A few more things that have occurred that make me realize my age are:
- Adults/relatives suddenly don’t care that you’re in the room when they start telling sexual jokes.
-You leave notes to explain how to take care of your houseplants when you’re away because you worry for their well-being in your absence.
- You do your own taxes or are suddenly very interested in learning how to do them.
- You look at gorgeous shoes that a young woman is wearing and think that yes, they look sexy as hell, but really…how uncomfortable could they be?
- You have to stop yourself from pinching the cheeks of not only children, but cute adults as well (that one comes from Sam).
- Bran cereal doesn't make you bat an eyelash
- Dyeing your hair becomes about "cover up" instead of just being bored and wanting a new look.

Those are just the few that I have noticed lately. I know that there are tons more that I just can’t think of right now.

Forgetting things. There’s another one.