Act Your Age

You know that feeling you get when you first open the mailbox and see something inside? That fleeting moment of happiness and glimmer of hope that someone wanted to send you something. What could it be? Who is it from? And then you realized that 9 times out of 10 it's either junk or someone you owe money to and that feeling quickly fades away? I had that experience this afternoon.

Since it was first day back at work since the holidays, I stayed a little later to tie up a few ends while I was focused. And when I got home, as usual, I checked the mailbox. (Usually it is either totally empty or full of junk mail addressed to people who no longer live here.) Today, there was only one piece of mail. In the last little bit of daylight I could see that it was for me. I hurried inside where it was warm and there was light and looked again. Yep, there was my name! So I quickly study the envelope, which says rather boldly "Act Your Age." I'm thinking at this point that it's another one of those resume builder or career services or go back to school type offers. After all, each letter of that phrase was blocked out in bold, bright colors. Orange and blue and green and golden rod. A little fuschia and purple. Then I read, in a smaller, less obnoxious print, "Welcome to the one magazine for women over 40 who love to act their age."

(pause here for dramatic effect)

WhAt?!?!?! Seriously??? So I flip it over. In same bold, mismatched font, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" Followed by the less attention grabbing, "If you're 40, 50, 60 or beyond, it's your time to shine...."

Well, that certainly grabbed my attention. Apparently someone somewhere thinks I am a middle-aged woman. Or something that I filled out somewhere matched the profile of a middle-aged woman. I am an unmarried, financial struggling, 40-something year old woman without a real career yet, stuck in the body of an early-20's girl. Fantastic. My life makes so much more sense now.

So I guess the moral of the story is that the world has tricked us. We are told to enjoy high school because it will fly by. That college year are the best years of our life. That being in your 20's is wonderful because you are finally independent and making money and getting your own place and on real path. And now you are telling me I have to wait another 20 years to shine??? I thought this was my time to shine?

My self-esteem is through the roof right now. I've magically aged 20+ years in the matter of a day. Yep, I feel great about myself. (And for those who can't tell, I'm being totally sarcastic. I found the whole situation to be quite hilarious for about 10 minutes, or long enough to write this post, then promptly threw the mail in the trash.)

So on that note, I'll end with a favorite quote: "Growing old is mandatory. Growing up is optional." Age is only a number - it's how you feel inside that really counts!

Simply,
MJ