Thursday, July 06, 2006
Age Perceptions
The longer I'm back in my hometown, the more I realize that age is not only just a number, it's a perception and it's all relative. I frequently meet (or meet again) people that were working adults at the time I started Kindergarten here. Honestly, most of them look almost the same and quite a few look better (younger, thinner, more fit, less hairspray) than when I knew them as a kid. It is almost impossible for me to believe they have been adults this whole time and are still working, still active, not much has changed for them.
Meeting these people again as adults and having adult conversations (when the last converstation we might have had was 1+1=2) is a tiny adjustment for me, but is always a huge adjustment for them. All they can remember is the tow-headed girl who used to run around my parents' farm. They are amazed that I am now 30 and that the little girl is gone. Their lives have been relatively the same for the past 25 years, as they are still here doing the same thing and now somehow I have grown up and am now their coworker.
The reason I am thinking about this more now is that I am finally starting to think as the "older" person instead of the kid. My nieces are growing up at a rapid pace - one has been married for several years. Another has been driving for several years and is now in college and has a serious boyfriend. My two younger ones look more mature in every picture I see. H's nieces that I met as 8 year olds are both grown up - one is in college dating an NFL player and the other is married with two children. There is never really much discussion from any of them as they age. Maybe a little of the obligatory "look how much you've grown" from me, but they don't exactly say things to me like, "I'm older now so I'll be cursing during our conversations" or "I'm a political activist now, so we can nix the talk about summer camp" or the dreaded, "I'll be making more money than you when I graduate..."
I guess the good news is that now that I am the older person, maybe I can accept that my aging doesn't matter any more, because it will go completely unnoticed by the younger ones. :-)
On a side note: I also just noticed recently that I am actually old enough to notice prices increasing, so I can relate a little more to my parents than before when they say things like "This is outrageous! I remember when _____ used to cost _____!" I guess this is because when I was a kid, the only things I really paid for were gas and some clothing items. I didn't really start buying building supplies and groceries until college and so it took me a while to see a marked difference in things. Now that it has been 5 years since we built our house, things are starting to need replacement already and I can really notice that changes when I run to Lowe's for an item here or there. The quality of the boxes, thickness of metal on the same object purchased a few years back are all worse as well. Mom and dad, I'm finally starting to see where you're coming from :-)
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Meeting these people again as adults and having adult conversations (when the last converstation we might have had was 1+1=2) is a tiny adjustment for me, but is always a huge adjustment for them. All they can remember is the tow-headed girl who used to run around my parents' farm. They are amazed that I am now 30 and that the little girl is gone. Their lives have been relatively the same for the past 25 years, as they are still here doing the same thing and now somehow I have grown up and am now their coworker.
The reason I am thinking about this more now is that I am finally starting to think as the "older" person instead of the kid. My nieces are growing up at a rapid pace - one has been married for several years. Another has been driving for several years and is now in college and has a serious boyfriend. My two younger ones look more mature in every picture I see. H's nieces that I met as 8 year olds are both grown up - one is in college dating an NFL player and the other is married with two children. There is never really much discussion from any of them as they age. Maybe a little of the obligatory "look how much you've grown" from me, but they don't exactly say things to me like, "I'm older now so I'll be cursing during our conversations" or "I'm a political activist now, so we can nix the talk about summer camp" or the dreaded, "I'll be making more money than you when I graduate..."
I guess the good news is that now that I am the older person, maybe I can accept that my aging doesn't matter any more, because it will go completely unnoticed by the younger ones. :-)
On a side note: I also just noticed recently that I am actually old enough to notice prices increasing, so I can relate a little more to my parents than before when they say things like "This is outrageous! I remember when _____ used to cost _____!" I guess this is because when I was a kid, the only things I really paid for were gas and some clothing items. I didn't really start buying building supplies and groceries until college and so it took me a while to see a marked difference in things. Now that it has been 5 years since we built our house, things are starting to need replacement already and I can really notice that changes when I run to Lowe's for an item here or there. The quality of the boxes, thickness of metal on the same object purchased a few years back are all worse as well. Mom and dad, I'm finally starting to see where you're coming from :-)
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