You know you’re middle-aged when….
The other day, a woman old enough to be my mother commented: "I guess you're officially middle-aged now, right?!" I'm 43 years old, so doing the math, I agreed -- somewhat in surprise. I guess I am middle-aged. Later that same day, I was part of a conversation where someone said, "You know you're in your 40's when...." And later that same week, I saw some friends for the first time in awhile and we spoke ad nauseum about our various ailments before joking: "We got old!"
So, is the universe telling me something? I'm not sure, but in honor of the rule of three, here is my random list of "Tell me you're middle-aged without telling me you're middle-aged."
People only call you "Sir" or "Madam," not "Bro" or "Miss."
You believe the person calling you "Sir" or "Madam" is the same age as you.
In your mind, you're 27 years old.
The music in the grocery store is on point.
You don't know many of the actors at the Oscars or artists on the Billboard charts.
You don't care who those actors or artists are.
You worship at the altar of Costco.
You have spent a "pretty nice little Saturday" at Home Depot -- and know what movie I'm quoting.
You can't believe that movie came out in 2003 -- or that 2003 was 21 years ago.
You return texts at 9 p.m. or 5 a.m. -- days after you received them.
You wish your texts had a "flag for follow up" function like email (because "keep as new" doesn't do the trick!).
You don't understand how people eat dinner at 8:30 p.m.
You eat a pre-dinner before going to dinner at 8:30 p.m.
Drinking even a glass of wine at dinner means you'll be wide awake at 3 a.m..
If someone said you had a "free" day off, one of your top three thoughts involves decluttering.
I could go on, but I'd say that's a perfect one to end on!
Because here's the thing: being middle-aged rocks. Why?
You know who you are.
You realize no one actually has it figured out.
You're comfortable in your own skin.
You recognize that with age comes confidence and steadiness.
You don't care what others think.
You realize that age is truly just a number, every day is a gift... and it's a privilege to grow old.
If you're younger than middle-aged, well, now you know what you're in for; if you're older, please let me know what I missed. Regardless, I hope this gave you a chuckle. If not, let me know and I'll stay in my wheelhouse
FWIW, I do have a separate "You know you're a parent when" list in the works....!
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