Thursday, June 26, 2008

Age is a State of Mind???


My poor ego has really suffered quite a few blows as of late. My age seems to be the hot topic that has everyone adding in their two cents, and leaving me feeling old and decrepit.

It started with a young man who just graduated high school. He was perusing an old photo album and saw a picture of me when I was about his age. He looked at me wide-eyed and said, "Wow! You were pretty!" Ouch. He tried to drag the foot out of his mouth by adding, "...and you still are!" Too little, too late.

What was more insulting? The "were"? Or the fact that he seemed so surprised at the revelation?

Next, I tried to color my hair. Anyone who reads my blog on any kind of regular basis is sure to remember the debacle of that attempt. My hair is "usually" a dark brown/auburn. Now it is BLACK. My son tried to make me feel better by suggesting, "Well, maybe it has always really been black, but just looked lighter because of all the gray." (Well, that's one less Christmas present I have to buy...)

When we went to the zoo, we saw a HUGE turtle. In my estimation, it was at least 90, due mostly to its size. I posed the question to my darling offspring, "Look how BIG that turtle is! How old do you suppose it is to have gotten that big?" My youngest replied, "Oh, really OLD! Like... 39!" (My middle child is the only one sure to receive gifts at this point...)

The final blow (to date) was when I went into a Wal-Mart. I was wearing khaki capris and a blue knit top. My family was searching for batteries, and I was standing with the cart at the check out lanes.

Another employee came and stood beside me. "Is that all merchandise you have to put away?" he asked.

I looked at him blankly.

"Oh... Do you work here?" he asked, as his eyebrows shot up.

I could feel the blood rush to my face. "Um, no," was all I could manage.

So, let's see, to sum it up:
1. I used to be pretty
2. But now I'm gray
3. And old
4. And I work at Wal-Mart

Boy, it makes me wonder what's going to happen after I really turn 40!!!???

1 comment:

ThePrincessMommy said...

But 40 is when it gets REALLY GOOD! (or so I have I heard, um, it's not like I would know or anything?)