The Golden Years
A few weeks ago I turned 35. I didn't mention it at the time because it seemed weird to be all Happy birthday to me!, plus we were in the midst of a national tragedy down in Virginia. This is, sadly, a fairly accurate indicator that it must be my birthday, when many innocent people die. Waco, Oklahoma City bombing, Columbine: my 21st birthday, my 23rd birthday, and the day after my 27th birthday.
In any event, it seems that 35 is the cusp of decrepitude, when the cards people give you go from saying things like "Live it up and party all night!" to "You're not THAT old". I've noticed that it has recently started taking me longer to get ready in the morning because of all the maintenance required -- two different lotions to go on my face to prevent wrinkles, extra conditioner for all my grey hair, iron pills, calcium supplements, extra flossing and rinsing of my gums to prevent my teeth from falling out of my head.
But because the modern urban life timeline is all screwed up, I am also in the midst of doing things previously meant for 22-year-olds, like changing diapers and trying to figure out where to take my assorted careers and wanting to buy a house and learning about the early years of marriage.
William Safire had an interesting On Language column this Sunday about the word "middle age" and how it's not really useful any longer, which is something I'd noticed myself in the past week. I was talking to my father and described someone as middle-aged, meaning 60, which of course is only middle age if you're planning on living to 120. For me middle age has always simply been short-hand for "someone around my parents' age," but the truth is that I am a lot closer to middle-age than they are. So I think Safire is right, that we need some new words to describe these ever-shifting life stages. What am I, at 35 but with a toddler and crappy furniture? What are my 60-something-but-nowhere-near-retirement parents?
I'm open to suggestions.
In any event, it seems that 35 is the cusp of decrepitude, when the cards people give you go from saying things like "Live it up and party all night!" to "You're not THAT old". I've noticed that it has recently started taking me longer to get ready in the morning because of all the maintenance required -- two different lotions to go on my face to prevent wrinkles, extra conditioner for all my grey hair, iron pills, calcium supplements, extra flossing and rinsing of my gums to prevent my teeth from falling out of my head.
But because the modern urban life timeline is all screwed up, I am also in the midst of doing things previously meant for 22-year-olds, like changing diapers and trying to figure out where to take my assorted careers and wanting to buy a house and learning about the early years of marriage.
William Safire had an interesting On Language column this Sunday about the word "middle age" and how it's not really useful any longer, which is something I'd noticed myself in the past week. I was talking to my father and described someone as middle-aged, meaning 60, which of course is only middle age if you're planning on living to 120. For me middle age has always simply been short-hand for "someone around my parents' age," but the truth is that I am a lot closer to middle-age than they are. So I think Safire is right, that we need some new words to describe these ever-shifting life stages. What am I, at 35 but with a toddler and crappy furniture? What are my 60-something-but-nowhere-near-retirement parents?
I'm open to suggestions.
Labels: aging
posted by Hana @ 11:37 AM
1 Comments
