If you are like me, sometimes you feel like you are still that young person, heading off to college with all the energy and promise of youth. Then I look in the mirror and a stranger stares back at me. It is at those moments that I am reminded that my youth is long gone. Here are my top ten reminders that I am not young any longer... even if I still feel young at heart.
1. When I used to look in the mirror in the morning, I looked for new signs of acne; now I look for aging spots and wrinkles.
2. I have clothes in my closet that I actually wear that are older then my children. (The shearling coat that I have on today to ward off the single digit temperatures is from 1986!)
3. I used to keep secret about my partying activities so my parents wouldn't find out what I did when I went out with my friends. Now, I keep these activities secret from my kids!!
4. Years ago, people would say that part of aging was to gain one pound a year. Didn't seem too scary. Fast forward, 32 years after getting married and that one pound a year really makes a huge difference. Arrgghh!
5. When I was a young lady, I had to worry about getting my period unexpectedly, and trying to prepare for that event by carrying products and being aware of the day of the month. Now I worry that if I cough or laugh too hard, I will pee in my pants. Hard to prepare for that.
6. When I was young, I tried all sorts of mixed drinks before settling upon tequila sunrises and Long Island iced teas as my beverage of choice. Now, when I say I am having a mixed drink, it means I am combining two flavors of Zero Vitamin Water.
7. I used to run up and down three levels of steps in my house when I was a teenager so often that I literally wore a thin spot in the rug. This year, my husband and I are selling our house and moving to an apartment in the same town so we can avoid the steps.
8. I used to think a good night's sleep was going to bed before midnight and waking up on my own without an alarm clock. Now, I think a good night's sleep is when I actually do sleep, and don't snore.
9. My most embarrassing moment growing up was worrying what my mother would wear to parent teacher conferences. This week, I went to a business meeting and only when I left the conference room did a secretary point out I had two feet of toilet paper hanging off the waistband of my pants. This morning, I came back from the gym, looked in the bathroom mirror and saw that my nighttime eye mask was on the top of my head!
10. When I was a teen, a good trip to the dentist meant no cavities. Now, if I can get away without needing a crown or a root canal, I feel lucky.
Is there anything you do that screams, "you're old?" Please comment below-misery loves company.
Happy New Year and here is hoping we can all feel young at heart in 2014.
Earlier on Huff/Post50: