Age is just a number
Sep. 28th, 2011 04:42 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
wendyzskiAnd we all know that I suck at math..
Apparently, sometime in the last year, I forgot how old I was.
Yesterday was my birthday, and I told people I was 44.
When my mother called me at work, she asked me how it felt to be 45. I said "What?" Then I thought about the numbers, and sure enough, born in 1966 means I'm 45 now. My mom's comment was "I ought to know - I was there!" (I come by my snark honestly, at least)
I usually "read" younger than my actual age, at least until I open my mouth. My energy, the way I carry myself, and my tendency to play dress-up are all characteristic of someone no older than their mid 30s. My clear and low-pitched speaking voice can bounce those estimates back up, but not by that much * During one of my bouts of unemployment when I was working temp jobs, I actually took some grief from management and coworkers who thought I was making up experience and pretending to be more capable than I could possibly be at my age - only they thought "my age" was off by a good 13 years. Took me a couple of weeks to sort out THAT particular misconception - no honey, I really DO have 20 years reception experience....
It is a cliche that women lie about their age, but this was really an honest mistake. I do usually joke that 'It's not the years, it's the mileage".
I confess that I really enjoy the double-take I usually get when I tell people how old I am. (Or at least how old I THOUGHT I was..). Oily skin is good for someting at least. It really is grossly unfair that a person can get wrinkles and zits at the same time!
So now I'm trying to wrap my head around the idea that I'm a year older than I thought I was, and wondering if that actually means anything
*I recall one particular date evening when I discovered that I at 39 was going out for an evening with someone who was only 23! We each thought the other was in their 30s. Felt like a dirty old woman for a while about THAT one, I can tell you. We evenutally drifted apart - mostly because our life experiences were so very different that we eventually just ran out of things to talk about!
Apparently, sometime in the last year, I forgot how old I was.
Yesterday was my birthday, and I told people I was 44.
When my mother called me at work, she asked me how it felt to be 45. I said "What?" Then I thought about the numbers, and sure enough, born in 1966 means I'm 45 now. My mom's comment was "I ought to know - I was there!" (I come by my snark honestly, at least)
I usually "read" younger than my actual age, at least until I open my mouth. My energy, the way I carry myself, and my tendency to play dress-up are all characteristic of someone no older than their mid 30s. My clear and low-pitched speaking voice can bounce those estimates back up, but not by that much * During one of my bouts of unemployment when I was working temp jobs, I actually took some grief from management and coworkers who thought I was making up experience and pretending to be more capable than I could possibly be at my age - only they thought "my age" was off by a good 13 years. Took me a couple of weeks to sort out THAT particular misconception - no honey, I really DO have 20 years reception experience....
It is a cliche that women lie about their age, but this was really an honest mistake. I do usually joke that 'It's not the years, it's the mileage".
I confess that I really enjoy the double-take I usually get when I tell people how old I am. (Or at least how old I THOUGHT I was..). Oily skin is good for someting at least. It really is grossly unfair that a person can get wrinkles and zits at the same time!
So now I'm trying to wrap my head around the idea that I'm a year older than I thought I was, and wondering if that actually means anything
*I recall one particular date evening when I discovered that I at 39 was going out for an evening with someone who was only 23! We each thought the other was in their 30s. Felt like a dirty old woman for a while about THAT one, I can tell you. We evenutally drifted apart - mostly because our life experiences were so very different that we eventually just ran out of things to talk about!
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no subject
Date: 2011-09-29 01:53 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-09-29 02:16 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-09-29 11:25 am (UTC)My hair color has not matched my calendar age for most of my adult life (except for two brief periods when I tried to hide it), so I'm very used to being 'aged up' (although I never liked it much). What has been interesting is that in the past 10 years, my apparent (visual) age is going down (somewhat like what you describe); that has taken some getting used to...
Hope your B-day was a good one.