You
know the people who say, “Oh, I just love working with/living near young
people. It keeps me young.”
Nope. Not me.
Family aside, I like being around
people my own age. Maybe it’s because we have common experiences and understand
each other’s references. Or maybe it’s because I sometimes feel as though I’m
being treated differently than I would have been in the past. Thankfully, I don’t
usually encounter that idiotic, “How may I help you, young lady?” Through my
30s, 40s, and 50s, I was pretty much just another person in the crowd. Now I’m
often dismissed to another category, one that few people revere and no one wants
to join (unless of course, they consider the alternative).
Ours isn’t an ‘over 55’ community, but
residents in condominium complexes often self-select. Here in suburbia, the
person who chooses a condo is usually there because they’ve just down-sized. Thus,
practically all of my neighbors are my age or older. The result is that I can
forget about age and just be me.
And now, to cancel all my
protestations that age is irrelevant, look what I saw yesterday in Target.
My kids used to drag one of these
around. Unlike the kids who will now toddle through the house with it, or even
the parents that buy it, at least they knew what it was.
Okay, that was officially crotchety.
Sorry, but I want to be around people of all ages. I may someday have to live in a "retirement" community, but I hope that is far away.
ReplyDeleteI am happy sitting on the crone bench. And have most excellent company.
ReplyDeleteyou are allowed to be crochety. You are allowed to be grumpy, to have unexpected and inappropriate snurfles of laughter, sardonic asides, and naps. It's a package deal.
ReplyDeleteHa! I saw a cartoon recently that showed a rotary phone like that one, and she was surrounded by little cellphones who said, "Hi Grandma!" And remember when we had phone booths? :-)
ReplyDeleteI love it.
DeleteWell earned crotchety. Remember, they are clueless to the knowledge and technology in an old dial phone. They're not just a joke. So there.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know they still sold those toys. My kids never had one, we didn't even have a real phone until #3 was born.
ReplyDelete"Officially crotchety." I like that.
ReplyDeleteI don't feel that I've become invisible or that I am treated differently just because I'm older.
ReplyDelete