Lessons on Transition

But Being Old is Good.

So yesterday I wrote a blog post with observations that support this suspicion that I’ve had lately:  We’re I’m old. And while all those things were true, I feel a need to write this follow-up post because guess what? Being old is pretty awesome. I swear. Each year just keeps getting better and better and I’m not lying when I say that I’m actually looking forward to turning the big 4-0.  (Maybe because I’m only 38 right now. Ask me again in a year.)

 

Here, let me convince you:

 

1. At yoga last night, my young, sweet, skinny instructor talked about trying to figure out what she wants to do with her life and how unhappy she currently is. Oh honey. I remember those days. And I’m so glad to be past those days—waaaaaay past. I know what I’m doing with my life and I’m damn happy doing it. Sure, you might look better in your yoga pants but with these extra pounds comes wisdom. And wisdom? Comes with age.
2. I no longer live paycheck to paycheck. If something unexpected happens, I have the cash flow to cover it rather than rack up my credit card bill.
3. I stopped apologizing. When I was young, I felt a need to apologize for everything; now, I just apologize for what truly needs it.
4. I no longer worry about what everyone is doing and saying when I’m not there. I no longer have the ‘fear of missing out.’ If I feel like going out, great. If I don’t, even more great. And if I go out and want to come home early, even greater.
5. When I do get together with said girlfriends (see my last post), we get to the good stuff—immediately. I mean seriously. We don’t have time for ‘fluff.’ Instead we dig deep and laugh hard and avoid distractions (cell phones are put away). This? Makes our time together magical and not something to be taken for granted. We may not get together as often as we used to but when we do, it’s BETTER.
6. I don’t have to keep up with the latest pop culture crap. I suppose I never ‘needed’ to but when I was younger I felt a need to be able to join in on a conversation about these types of things and now I don’t. And I don’t apologize for not knowing who the stars in People magazine are or who is singing at the MTV music awards (if I can stay up late enough to watch them). (Just proved #3 above.)
7. I know what I like now. And I’m not worried about if it’s cool or not cool or sorta cool or… I just like it. You don’t like Dave Matthews? Fine. I probably don’t like your music. You don’t read? I read non-stop. Doesn’t mean you’re cooler than me or that I’m cooler than you. Or maybe it does. I’m just old enough to not care about it anymore.
8. I know myself. I know that my body doesn’t tolerate gluten, dairy, or soy and I like how I feel when I avoid those things. I know that I need nine hours of sleep every night. I know that getting rid of caffeine makes me feel calmer and I know that I will never be able to give up tortilla chips and salsa.  
9. My husband and I are in our groove. We’ve been together long enough now to know what each look, sigh, breath, gesture, comment, and depth of laughter means. I need him and he needs me. But not too much. We’ve managed to keep our independence while also meshing ourselves into one unit. I have no doubt that I’ll be spending the rest of my life with him and this brings me a sense of calm that I didn’t have when I was younger.
10. Our friends are raising beautiful children who are going to set this world on fire! We’re old enough to be sharing kids’ prom pictures and college acceptance letters and kindergarten art projects and this? Is awesome. I loooove looking at Facebook pictures of my friends’ families and seeing how Joseph has Melissa’s nose and Grace has Erin’s eyes and Lucy looks exactly like Michelle and how my niece, McKenna, has a lot of Aunt Tina in her and how Bailey has a lot of her mom in her.
11. We have a savings account and a 401(k). 

 

See?

 

We're Old.

I bought a big bag of Epsom salt yesterday because I read that Epsom salt baths are full of awesome. They soothe achy muscles, reduce inflammation, help you sleep, etc., etc., etc. When I told my husband this and informed him that the bag was in my bathroom if he ever wanted to use it, he simply looked at me and said, ‘Oh good God. We’re old. You should never repeat those words to anyone else ever again.’ And it dawned on me… Oh, shit. He’s totally right. Epsom salt baths are for old people and are just another link in a growing chain of discoveries of how old we really are. Shit.

 

Here are my recent discoveries/observations. I’m saying ‘we’ just to make myself feel better. This may really only be about me. (Gasp.)

 

1. Getting ‘the girls’ together requires thirteen texts or emails and two months of advance notice. (We used to just show up every Thursday at rotating houses to watch ‘Must See TV’ and eat fondue and drink beer.)
2. When said dinner with the girls finally happens, choosing a location becomes tricky because someone’s on a cleanse, someone’s not consuming dairy, someone’s not eating gluten, someone’s not drinking this month, someone isn’t eating soy… and I guarantee you that a conversation about cross-fit, the paleo diet, and/or juice cleanses will come up. (We used to talk about boys and booze while we ate pizza and fried cheese.)
3. My husband wears reading glasses. And I think they’re sexy as hell.
4. We make dinner reservations for 6:00pm.
5. We arrive home before SNL airs on Saturday nights and we usually don’t stay awake through the monologue.
6. We make noises when we stand up.
7. Hangovers last two days. Oh hell, who am I kidding? Three. They last three damn days.
8. We subscribe to the New Yorker and Money Magazine and no longer know who ¾ of the people in US Weekly are. Our subscriptions to Rolling Stone and Shape have expired.
9. We know that two glasses of wine is our limit. Three is a slippery slope. (We used to drink bottles. Of our own. And then some.)
10. 21-year olds look 16 to us. They can’t possibly be old enough to drink, we say.
11. Everyone’s running a half-marathon or doing cross-fit or going to hot yoga classes five times a week or 5am boot camp sessions. And we post about our training incessantly.
12. We care about what we put on our skin and what we clean our homes with. (We used to use whatever was the cheapest.)
13. We can’t have dinner too late or we won’t sleep well.
14. We pop supplements, put chia seeds in our smoothies, own Vitamixes, engage in dry brushing and oil pulling rituals, and we’re working on incorporating meditation into our lives.
15. Our parents are moving closer to us. And we’re grateful for that.
16. Friday happy hour? Doubtful. I’ve got a date with my jammies at 6:30pm.
17. A trip to the beach has us searching for tankinis at Nordstrom’s and wondering if it’s ok to wear a one-piece?
18. We can’t have caffeine after 3:00pm.
19. We say things like, ‘Remember when we had to use dial-up Internet?’
20. In our drawers is an old Razor phone and/or Walkman and/or Gameboy.

 

Right?!?