I've been noticing subtle signs for about a year now, but the fact that I am getting old pretty much reached up and slapped me in the face today.
One of the first signs was that I started caring about money and having some when I retire. Next was a growing interest in politics. Getting married, of course, was a pretty big sign. And then there was the Costco membership. Climbing half dome was a reminder that my body is beginning to have limitations in its performance. All of a sudden, I feel this need to eat healthy. I worry about getting cancer. I'm totally baby hungry. All of these are signs that I'm getting older.
But, today - a slap in the face. First, I found a gray hair. Then, I chaperoned a youth dance. Jared laughed when I told him that I found the gray hair, but this is serious business. This is the natural aging process being manifested in a very real way. How am I supposed to combat this? I can't. Age happens. And hair goes gray.
And, as if that wasn't enough, the youth dance was an in your face reminder that I am no longer young. Instead of be-bopping my whole body on the dance floor, I was just be-bopping my head while I told kids they couldn't go out the back door. Half the songs I didn't know and the other half were songs that came out when I was a kid. Everywhere I looked at the dance were scenes that took me back to my own youth dance days and were solemn reminders that I am in a very different place in life now. I'm going to be honest. It was a little depressing. As I said, a slap in the face.
However, there is a silver lining to this small cloud. Also at the youth dance, I saw awkwardness everywhere I looked. Awkward interactions between girls and boys trying to figure out how to act toward the opposite sex. Awkward dancing as they tried to dance to songs that are just not danceable, but still Mormon Youth Dance standards for some reason. Awkward lingering while they waited to be asked to dance.
After watching a number of these awkward interactions and moments amongst the youth and growing more grateful by the second that those days are over for me, I decided that maybe getting older isn't such a bad thing.
Now I just have to figure out how to get old gracefully so that when I'm 80 years old, I'm a classy old lady!
6 comments:
I'm pretty sure you'll be a classy old lady. :)
We sure are getting older aren't we???? Babies and everything.
A gray hair and a chaperone in one week - that is rough. I have chaperoned my fair share of dances over the past 5 years, my favorite, of course, being the prom, and I concur that growing older most definitely has its ups. Gray hair, however, is not one of them.
Maybe you were just be-bopping your head instead of your whole body, but I saw how agile you were with your cat-like relexes and speed when a youngin' was trying to escape out your door. You still got it.
You are too funny! I am reminded of this quite often too. It really is a wierd feeling because at this age part of you still feels like you are a teenager and then you have experiences like yours and realize your not! We really are at the perfect age though, if you think about it. Out of the awkward teenage years, yet still young enough to play sports and hike a mountain! :) Good luck!
That above comment was from me. I am at my mother in laws home and she is carol.
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