Tuesday, May 24, 2011

I Am 33 Years Old...I Think

I had a dream last night that I COULD NOT remember how old I was. I tried to remember my birthday and subtract the years. I tried to ask people. Nothing worked. I was so confused as to how this could happen, and guessed myself to be somewhere around 38 years old.

It was so strange.

For some reason, I really do feel a bit like that this year. My birthday is in October and this year I will be...34. I had to think about it AGAIN.

Maybe it's because I'm in a strange age range. Not exactly young anymore, but somewhere in between.

I've read a ton of novels this year and have felt this strange disconnect with how old I am while reading. Several books placed the protagonist at a sturdy age of 35. She is successful professionally, but either newly divorced or never married. Looking for love. And finding it. As I was progressing through the book, I realized that I was picturing this woman as OLD. And wondering why she hadn't settled down yet. (Not everyone gets married at 23, Mel, remember that). Then I had this moment of revelation, this character is my age. I could picture her as a friend, a peer. Huh.

Thirty something is just a strange place to be. My friend and I have discussed several times about the challenge of what to wear. No longer wanting the same style we wore in college, but not ready for more mature styles either. My friend laughs when I say it, but I mean it when I tell her that I am excited to be old. I hope that I live to the age when I can happily wear a loose button up and some elastic waisted pants. I want to drink coffee and eat doughnuts before my water aerobics class with my pals. I want to take a bus trip to Wisconsin. I am  going to rock old age.

But for now, I have to figure this time out. This in-between phase.

A good start would be the ability to state my age without having to subtract back to my birth year.
33, 33, 33, 33.
Why can I not remember that?!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

4 comments:

Nik-Nak said...

I can't remember my age. People always ask how old I am and I say
"25. 25? 24. Seriously, 25 or 24?"
(My mom just confirmed I am 24.)
My theory is nothing exciting happens between the ages of 22 and 29 so those numbers are easier to forget. PLus I put too much time into counting up how old my 19 month old is. I have no brain cells left.

My birthday is in October too!!

Wrath Of Mom said...

I forget my age, too! It's so strange. Being 38 is odd -- I'm neither young nor old. It's like being invisible.

My husband's grandmother was at the doctor years ago and he asked her about her diet. She confessed that every week she indulged in an ice cream cone at the mall, but otherwise she adhered to a low fat, low sugar diet. He looked at her chart & said, "Ma'am you're 93. Have as much ice cream as you want, whenever you want." HELL YA!, I say.

Bea said...

That happened to me, too, between the ages of 33 and 38. When I turned 39, though, there was no further confusion - I always knew EXACTLY how old I was. Needless to say, turning 40 has had the same effect.

I remember how shocked I was when I did the math and realized that the grown-up Sirius Black is actually several years younger than I am! I still have that reaction, sometimes, to characters in their thirties - they seem much older than me.

Jenifer said...

That is so funny, I completely echo all of this! Like Bea though now that I am 40 there has been NO confusion. Ha.