Getting Older

I went out to happy hour for a work function the other night. As the waiter took everyone's drink orders, he asked my co-worker for her id, while apologizing that he had made everyone at the other end of the table show him theirs; therefore, she had to as well. She politely pulled out her id as did the girl next to her. I then placed my order, which he wrote down and walked off to place, no questions asked. 

I put myself in that 2nd bracket now... although much less blonde.



Getting older... yep. I can't really say I am the type who minds that much, but there it is.

And isn't it funny that when you're 20 and life events happen, you realize you're "Growing Up". Now when someone calls me "Ma'am" I realize I'm "Getting Older". And eventually we'll classify it as "Aging". Different terms, different stages, but it's all the same, isn't it?

I've heard people say for years how the body starts breaking down at 30. Funny, I was half way through writing this post when Marty spoke about this very thing at church on Sunday. 30 years old. They make it sound as if the warranty wears out. You know, the minute you hit 30, you're going to need major repairs, as if you're a car or something. I told my mom this, and she said that she had always heard 40 was the number. Great! With all the advances in medicine today and the threshold for breaking down is actually getting lower. Or better yet, I have another level of crappiness to look forward to in 10 years. Nice! Or maybe, just maybe all these people are just plain silly with their magic voodoo numbers! 

But here I am, living proof  at 31 years of age. Being the type of person who still skips down the sidewalk with her kids and does silly jumps in the office at random, I somewhat reject the concept that I'm "getting older". Oh, but there IS a hitch. You see, last year, the year I turned... gulp... 30... my little headaches got annoying enough that I finally saw a doctor about them, and then a specialist and then another. After searching for a cause and trying a few different options, I now take a daily preventative medication (which by the way if I forget to take, onsets a migraine). And then in the fall, while I was still just... that's right... 30... I started having some fairly disturbing hip problems. I've now seen my doctor and a specialist and then another for that. The end prognosis is that for now I shouldn't do stuff to aggravate it, an interim procedure might eventually help, and someday I'll have to have a hip replacement surgery...  oh, and there is nothing I can do to prevent it. 

At 31 years of age I'm already trying to figure out if yoga would be a good exercise technique to implement, not because I'll like it more or it's good for me, but because I don't think physically a lot of other options are viable. I actually teared up the other night talking with Adonai after we watched Wipe Out, because when you watch those shows you laugh and dream about how if you were a contestant on them, you'd be so fantastic and win. But alas, I will never be on the Amazing Race, because suddenly my body won't let me. I feel stupid. I wasn't going to be on Fear Factor anyway, but it's like a little piece of me died. Stupid magic number.

And YET, with all the chagrin that people put on getting older, I TRULY DON'T MIND. Okay, I HATE that my body is breaking down. Ado and I actually have bets against each other on who will need surgery first (him that I'll need my hip replaced; me that he'll need his knee replaced) - that's right, we have that kind of love! But, as for the aging thing - I've never been one to hide my age or my gray (at least not just yet). I think there are a few reasons for this.

Reasons I don't mind getting older:

1. With Age Comes Wisdom - Okay, a little cliché, but it's true isn't it? Wouldn't you rather be a mature adult than a good looking young fool? "Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised." - Proverbs 31:30
2. I'm a Bit of an Old Soul - Well, we all know my inner-child runs rampant, but I'm complicated okay. I was the 12 year old who could sit at the adult table the whole meal and actively participate in the conversation. I think that being that type of kid let's you be the type of adult who can handle age more gracefully.
3. My Friends are Older - Hee hee, a lot of you are!!! Really though, I've never minded another birthday, because since so many of my friends are 5 years ahead, I'm now just one year closer to being as cool and mature as they are.

4. I Have the Best Husband Ever - You may be perplexed, but truly, Adonai makes aging, like a journey... I can't not want to be on this adventure with him. He talks about how he looks forward to spending our late years together. He complements me, even the physical features I don't find attractive, he does. And because he loves me with a reflection of God's love, I think I love me more. It's sort of like how I'm an Amazon Woman who enjoys wearing high heels, even though I'm already an inch taller than my husband. Adonai doesn't mind, so I feel free to walk tall and feel beautiful in tall shoes. If he had a complex about it, I would totally have a complex about it. Having a supportive husband has been an amazing gift in the aging department.

So there you have it. I'm getting older... but then again, WE ALL ARE! It's a fact of life. Something to embrace. To age my friends!