Thursday, August 29, 2013

On Feeling Older

There are things in my recent life that make me feel as though I'm slowly becoming my grandmother.* Philip is only happy to point them out to me, and even though he thinks it to be funny, I already recognized the symptoms beforehand. Here's what I've noticed about myself, upon reflection:


1) I've taken to drinking a cup of coffee every weekday morning. I'll wait for those of you reading out there to collectively say, "Big deal. I've been doing that since I was 12!" This IS a big deal for me! I've skirted around coffee in the past by drinking a big cup of chai tea with soymilk, but now I've switched to the real deal. And let me tell you, it's lives up to its morning drug rep. After a few weeks now, I'm pretty much hooked. My grandparents used to wake up around like 4am and have coffee before leaving for work (grandpa still works as a short order cook, and my grandma was a waitress). I have yet to start waking up uber-early, but I'm sure it's coming up.

2) My interest in knitting/crocheting/embroidery/sewing/etc, etc, etc. Both of my grandmothers were very creative individuals. Grandma Colleen was a painter who covered her walls in paintings and made other crafty things. Grandma Carolyn crocheted and made collages of small items on old coffee cans and such (she called it "canning"). They were such fun pieces!

3) I now have indoor plants. Philip's less-than-thrilled about this one but is coming around. He even helped place my newly-potted succulents around our house Tuesday. I remember Grandma Carolyn having cacti in kitschy pots at her home. Philip says I'm nesting, I guess.

4) And a successful garden.  Yes, I grew living things this year.

5) I can't stay up after about 11:00pm anymore without being severely sleep-deprived and a total biatch the next day. Philip can attest to this. My grandparents knew the value of sleep, which I've slowly had to learn, too.

6) I find myself sometimes saying things like, "Stupid kids..." upon hearing about/seeing the kinds of shenanigans I used to pull at their age. For realz, I feel OLD. High school freshmen this year were born in 1995-96. WTF. This also applies to driving. People can be such bastards when behind the wheel.

7) Very often, my idea of a good time is staying the f**k home. Staying home = more rest + more money for other things...like paying off doctor appointments.

8) And on the note of money, paying bills on time is a must. Not that I ever meant to be late on bills in the past. We've come to a point where we can nearly afford to pay on time (even my student loans, whatwhat??), so yeah. My Grandma Carolyn never wanted credit cards. The lady paid for her washer and dryer IN CASH.

9) AND on the note of frugality...garage sales!! Don't get me wrong--I've been going to sales and thrift store since infancy (no, literally...my mom and grandma took me to them when I was a child). But nowadays, I'd rather buy something thrifted than brand new. Or at least at a reduced price.


These kind of sound like bummers, right? Well, they're NOT. I'm loving these new things about myself, and I am sure there are others that I have yet to identify. Here's to getting older, maybe wiser, and certainly happier!





*I'm not trying to be ageist with this post, merely pointing out how I feel that I'm developing great traits I saw in my grandmothers. And each of our grandmothers were individuals. If you had a grandmother who went skydiving all the time, and you feel the need to skydive, maybe that's part of your own rubric for what it means to age :) I'm embracing these new-found characteristics!



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