Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Growing Old (Or: Our tea cup / Is getting filled up / So we'll never have to dread / Getting old)


We interrupt this work-related series of posts to bring you a contemplation on aging.

I know it's obnoxious for a 24 year old to even mention this since she's only two years out of college, seven weeks and three days into marriage, and has only one white hair to her name, but I don't care.

Garrett and I have some good friends. We all realized just how old we're beginning to feel when over the course of several months we caught ourselves making old people choices and talking about old people things.

Scene One
The set-up: 
After spending an entire week working, five of us gather together to rejuvenate before the next week.
We have all gone to church and listened with interest during a New-Comer's class that consisted of theology, history, and grace, then moved upstairs for the actual service and communion. Afterwards we socialized briefly, and at the opening of this scene have returned to our friends' home for the night.

Brittney and I have decided to make a wild evening of it and have each downed a shot of Triple Sec. We are now sipping on berry-flavoured hard lemonades and cooking a low-carb, paleo-approved dinner, and discussing many aspects of life, including (but not limited to) making church home decisions, and what is the best way to pay off debt quickly. We also imbibe large glasses of water to ensure hydration.

The three men are all outside, grouped around the grille on the front porch smoking cigars and grilling a hunk of lean and seasoned venison to perfection. They are keeping the noise down for the sake of the neighbours.

The men enter the kitchen, stage right.

"Looks like you've been having fun in here," Garrett observes to Brittney and I while Dan plates up the meat and Trevor sets the table."What did you two talk about?"

"Sex," say Brittney and I, attempting to look young and frisky.

"Is that all you ever talk about?" Dan says. We hear a guffaw, and then a cough from the dining room.

"No! Well, what'd you all talk about, then?" I ask.

"Mortages," Garrett says.

Scene Two
We decide we're going to have a rip-roaring, irresponsible weekend together. 

Scene Three
Two people give up the Minecrafting party around midnight, citing a usual bedtime of 10pm. The rest give up shortly thereafter, citing responsibilities beginning again in the morning.

Scene Four
 We wake up, shuffle downstairs, and among five of us we are able to complain about somebody's arthritis acting up, two chronic headaches, three sore backs, and four-to-five different levels of tiredness. Somebody (me) has incredibly sore calves because she forgot she wasn't in as good shape as she used to be, and ran up and down too many flights of stairs two days before. We all exchange commiseration and remedy recommendations over a breakfast of eggs, pancakes, and orange juice. By this time the coffee has finally begun to kick in and somebody asks if this is what being old feels like. 

So you see, we are not old yet, but we are beginning to show signs. But I'm okay with that, because I've got some great people to grow old with.
Here are two songs to cheer you up if you're old already, to encourage you if you're starting to feel age creeping up, or to give you more pleasure at the thought of aging if you are so young you haven't noticed aging's effects yet. 


 From still-young whippersnappers like us.


From guys who know what's up. 

Happy birthday to Trevor S. (today), Garrett (Valentine's day), Brittney S. (January), me (December), and Dan S.* . . . whenever his birthday is. It's not on Facebook. Thanks for making that so easy, Dan.





*Trevor, Dan, and Brittney all happen to have last names that begin with S; Dan and Brittney are married to each other, Trevor is not married to either of them. Sorry for the confusion.

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