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In case I didn’t remember that tomorrow is my birthday, Facebook came up with an app that makes sure I and a host of well-wishers – along with a few trash talkers – are very aware that I am about to have another number added to my age. Last year was the big five-oh so this one shouldn’t be that big of a deal. Right? But then again, it is a full year later, so maybe this and each subsequent birthday is a much greater accomplishment and deserving of more fanfare.
I started thinking about writing this blog on getting older last week and came up with a really clever title and approach to the topic, but since I didn’t write anything down I can’t remember what I had in mind. So while I’m thinking about it now, here are a few random thoughts on the aging process that just might reflect what is coming your way a good ways down the road, what you’re currently experiencing as a fellow 50-something or what things you remember (but might have forgotten) that are now in your rear view mirror.
1. Oatmeal and prescription meds are big topics of discussion. And I’m not talking idle chatter. I’m talking the fodder of deep and enthralling conversations.
2. I now routinely call each of my children by one of their sibling’s name. Despite rolled eyes or vacant stare, I don’t think they mind that much and maybe find it mildly amusing. At least until I refer to one of the boys by one of the girl’s names or vice versa.
3. Retirement is on my mind. It was a couple years ago, too. But back then I was thinking I might do it some day. After watching my accounts and home equity go the wrong direction, I now think more about not retiring some day.
4. Stretchy fabrics are underrated. Particularly fabric swatches that circle the waist.
5. The kids think Amy and I talk too loud. I think they’re crazy. I can barely hear a word Amy is saying.
6. They – whoever ‘they’ are – are right; ‘old’ is a relative term. Even if a few things hurt that I didn’t know existed in my 30’s, I really don’t feel old at almost-51. More to the point, in my copious research for this piece, I discovered ‘old’ refers to people who are five or more years advanced in age than I am. Not only that, ‘old’ is on a sliding scale and will continue to be five years out from where I am in future years.
7. Fiber is mysterious and confusing. When I think of fiber, I think of something substantial and solid. Now they (there ‘they’ are again) sell fiber – with extra roughage thrown in for good measure – in little gel caps. I don’t know what this has to do with anything but I could go on about fiber all day!
8. Many parents of young children look like children themselves. This observation isn’t actually new. It came to me 10 years ago when I took my oldest child to college and my youngest child to kindergarten. The same week.
9. The world really does need the wisdom that comes from age and experience. This wisdom is treasure to be cherished and honored. I don’t know how I ever thought that youth and energy were what made big things happen.
10. A lot of my friends in my age range are looking older these days. (This observation is only intended for certain trash talkers – and you know who you are.)
Aging. It’s no laughing matter. It’s something we all must face. And on the positive side, it certainly beats the alternative unless, of course, you are one of the drafters of Obama’s health care plan. So I’m going to get very serious now.
But first I think I’ll take an afternoon nap!
A friend in my age range – let’s not get too specific and just say somewhere between age 49 and 51 – just got a major tattoo.
I was at one of my 14-year-old’s AAU basketball games a couple Saturday’s ago and the mom of one of the players from the other team had also recently got ‘tatted’ up; a shoulder to wrist floral arrangement on both arms. Naive as I am, I kept thinking she had some sort of arm-nylons on under her sleeveless t-shirt. That’s what I explained to Amy who elbowed me because she thought I was looking over there too much.
Imagine tat!
Of course head for the local high school or even middle school and you’ll see a large number of young people with low ride jeans, high-rise shirts, and lots of tattooed skin. And then there’s the girls.
What do tattoos tell us about a person? Anything? (Is there an age limit on when you can get your first tattoo?)
The old adage claimed that “clothes make the man,” which seems way too superficial, just as getting worked up about tattoos seems judgmental, turning a matter of taste into a moral issue. Right?
Along those lines my grandpa insisted you could tell everything you needed to know about a potential job candidate from his shoes: “you don’t have to be rich to have your shoes shined.” He obviously hadn’t anticipated casual Fridays and Ecco comfort shoes.
But back to tattoos. Just in case you were wondering –
* 15% of Americans have been tattooed – about 40 million people
* 38% of Americans between the ages of 18 and 40 have been tattooed
* Democrats(18%) are more tattooed than Republicans (14%) and Independents (12%)
* Geographically the West (20%) outpaces the East (14%), Midwest (14%), and South (15%) among adults with tattoos
* About 20% of those who have been tattooed regret it, with the number one cause of regret being the person’s name in the tattoo (16%); 11% admit “it was stupid”
* Of those with tattoos 26% feel more attractive, while 5% feel more intelligent; 29% feel more rebellious and 57% of those without a tattoo agree that those with tattoos look more rebellious
* On google searches, more people are interested in Angelina’s tattoos than any other celebrity
I think the numbers speak for themselves. Besides proving that Democrats have a higher propensity toward rebelliousness, that Brad may or may not find tattoos attractive depending on which news source you take most seriously in the grocery store checkout line, and that the 5% of those who are tattooed may not be smart enough to know that ink on skin didn’t make them more intelligent, the conclusion really is quite evident and irrefutable … kids, the answer is still no … under no circumstance are you to get a tattoo!
Not even if you want a heart with Mom and Dad inside it.