Another Year Older

Last week I celebrated my birthday. I kicked off the festivities a few weeks early with a very thoughtful gift from optometrist, a pair of reading glasses or "readers" as they are known on the streets. At first I thought it was because I was getting older, but my eye doctor assured me that I was just maturing. I was still not convinced as walked to my car and I was feeling a little depressed. Was I getting old, I pondered as I sighed and slipped my hands into the pockets of my waist high Lee Jeans. As I exited the parking lot by turning on my right blinker and subsequently turned left, I was hoping the local news talk radio station would drown out my sorrows. Driving down Ventura Blvd at about 12 mph in the far left lane, I seemed to hit every red light. Well, they weren't really red nor were they yellow, but they had been green for a very long time and to be safe I just slowed down until they turned yellow. Stopping at all the lights did give me time to shake my head at the kids wearing skinny jeans with holes in them. I also found myself with time to glare at the driver next to me who had his rock music up very loud.

I was getting hungry so I stopped at the local deli. After switching tables 3 times, I was finally comfortable although my numerous request to have the air turned down seemed to go unnoticed. I took comfort as I looked around at all the patrons who were much older than me. I went ahead and ordered a cup of soup and a few lemons for my water. Service was poor, so my unhappiness was reflected in my 7% tip but for some encouragement I went ahead and left a little hand written note on the receipt. "Have a nice day" seemed to balance out my less than generous tip. After a few attempts to exit the parking lot, I was finally on my way home.

As I pulled up in the drive way, I collected my newspaper from the front lawn and decided I would get on the computer. After numerous attempts to get online, I finally made it! With the temperature outside at 98 degrees and my house set at 78 degrees and cup of hot tea, it was time to catch up with friends on Facebook. As I tried unsuccessfully to upload a photo and view a YouTube video and tag someone in a picture, I realized it was 6:30, time for the national news. After a supper of left-overs, I realized it had a been a long and mentally exhausting day and I was no closer to the answer to the question, "Am I getting old?". But the answer would have to wait for another day, it was 8pm and if I had any chance of getting up at 4:30am for no apparent reason, I better get to bed.

Did this happen to anyone else when they turned 36?