Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Too old for... ?

Goofball over at Goofballsworld has tagged me in a meme.
Don't close the window yet... give us a chance. 

Normally I'm not into memes, but this one struck me as interesting.

"It doesn't matter how young or how old you are, we all do stuff that we are secretly too old for: stuff that we'd rather not want the others to know because they'd not consider it suitable for our age. So what are you too old for but what can't you stop doing because you like it that much?"

Well, here I am at the commonly accepted "middle age". The 40's have just begun and I must face that the downward spiral has also started on many facets of life. There are things which I simply will never get to do. No, I won't be partying with AC/DC anytime soon, and that teenage dream of owning a penthouse over Manhattan, I don't see it coming true either.

According to society I should have settled down at least in my 30's and started having kids. Well, pffft on that. I should have bought a house or at least an apartment. Pfft. I should have a comfy retirement fund started or at least some heavy guilt (OK, so I have a retirement fund... no pfft there).

Looking at life from the perspective of what society deems "normal" for each decade of life, I would have to say that generally I buck the system at every chance.

So why should acting my age be something I actually do?

Why is it that we allow society to decide what is right to do at what time of life? Goofball talks about how she loves to swing on swing-sets. She discusses the fact that the sizes are most generally geared to children, thus it isn't so easy to use them in the same way... BUT, she still loves the sensation... and I'm sure she can still fit IN the swing. Why should she feel badly about enjoying something so natural? Just because society tells us that she's too old?

I say Pfft!
  • If I want to play video games all night long, I'll do it.
  • If I want to buy the BIG LOLLIPOP and suck on it until I'm down to the stick, I will do it... and I will hold the sticky stick however I want!
  • If I want to wear a Mickey Mouse Watch, I will do it.
  • If I want to eat desert before the main meal, why not? Life is uncertain. Eat desert first!
  • If I want to sit on the floor at the bookstore and enjoy going through the stacks while crawling around, I'll get my pants dirty.
  • Bubble gum, you bet!
  • Rainbow Koosh Ball on my work desk... sure!
  • If I want to blow off a meeting to lie in a park enjoying the afternoon sun on my face, I'm going to do it.
  • Dancing like a wild thing at festivals... oh yeah!
  • Eating "Kiddie Cereal"... you bet!
  • Riding Screaming Mimi the bright blue scooter as a 42 year old...? Why the hell not?
  • Air guitar in the mirror... yup, I'm that girl.
  • If I'm flipping through channels and come across a Muppet Show re-run, I'm going to watch it because it's funny.
  • If I want to listen to heavy metal at full volume while wearing my headphones, why shouldn't I?
  • If I want to have a flag pole on the back of my bicycle, I'll do it! (Note, get a flag for the bicycle - it sounds cool)
  • If I want to go to a theme park and ride every damn ride there is, as long as there is no puking involved.. I'm in!

I don't care what people say or do, and no one else should either.

Whose life are we living?

Are we really here to gain the approval of others?

Will they be beside us at our deathbeds saying how right we were to obey all of society's rules?
No.

Do I want to get to the "jumping off place" only to have regrets about the way I've lived my life?
No.

"I want to die young at a ripe old age."
- Ashley Montagu

Remember:
Ageism will catch up with you.

So what do you do which defies society's ageism norms?
Come on... you know you do... or at least you WANT to!

post signature

7 comments:

Expats Again said...

You go girl! Do your thing.

Goofball said...

wow, good for you. I think I am far more restrained by what other people might think


ooooh I love the thought of sitting on the floor in a bookstore, reading.

Expat in Germany said...

LOVE this post! I plan to "not settle down" when I get married next year and have kids. If anything, I'm going to need MORE excitment in my life to deal with children.

Maria said...

I am totally guilty of turning on the cd player full blast in the car as I drive to work or whenever I am alone. And I sing along.

Anonymous said...

Yay! Go Snooker...Go!

Nikki (www.bookpunks.com) said...

nice. seems pretty ridiculous that many people's definition of growing up means not having fun anymore because of some social mores that "we" invented anyway. glad to here you, what do they say in shakespeare?, bite your thumb at. boo ageism, hurrah doing what makes you happy!

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