Tuesday, April 20, 2010

You Are Only as Old as You Feel


There's a saying, "You're only as old as you feel."  Well, for years I have never felt I was quite my age.  And I mean that.  When I turned 30, I still felt 20...when I turned 40, I still felt 30...and so on.  I look in the mirror now and SEE a 63 year old woman looking back at me, but hey, that face sure has me fooled. I think as kids we all went through that stage where we thought we were adopted; well, I went further than that.  I thought I was born in a different year altogether...and even today, I actually believe that  my birth certificate must  somehow be ten years off...physically....but emotionally it is maybe 50 years off.  No way am I 63.

By my nature, I still feel like a big kid.  I love to have fun.  I love playing with things.  I can get hooked on a video game at 5 pm and still be sitting there at 2 am...even though I have to go to work the next day.  I have a coloring book and crayons and love to get them out and color when I am under stress.  I am the oldest one at my job, yet I look around at the others, and they seem, oh, so much older than me.  

Yesterday I mentioned my toys.  There must be about 30 of them in my office...comes from years of buying at the holidays.  One of my favorites was a gift from my son...see, even my boys know I am still a kid at heart.  It is parrot who repeats everything that you say.  Oh, gosh, I have so much fun with him...I love chasing my co-workers around getting them to speak.  One time, I brought him into my parole group...thinking they'd have some fun...but, no one would say a word.  Turns out they were so paranoid, they thought I was taping them for their parole officers.  Had to remove the parrot from the room. 

Another great toy is "Officer Ron".  What a cutie he is!  Picture a little mouse dressed in a police officer's uniform...badge and all.  He's the cutest little thing with his club in his hand...and when you turn him on, he dances and sings "Bad Boys, bad boys, watcha gonna do when they come for you." One night I told my parole group that we had an speaker, and when they asked who, I told them "Officer Ron".  Well, they all groaned and carried on that they didn't want a police officer in their group...and then I brought him out and let him sing away.  They got such a kick out of it.


Now, don't you go thinking that I carry on like that in all my groups...only those that need a little jump start to get going. Sometimes, when nobody wants to talk because they don't really know each other, so they don't want to share...a little laughter goes a long way.  

Now, that's the emotional part of me...a big, overgrown little girl...the trickster.  Physically, I could be better.  My back hurts most of the time...and with the fibro, I never know what is going to hurt next...my sinuses a forever acting up, and my IBS holds me back from doing a lot of the things I used to do...but, I can deal with it...the gift of laughter carries me through.  Hope you all have a great day...and make someone laugh today. 

9 comments:

  1. ~i l♥ve your spirit! i sure needed your post today...laughter...something that feels so far out of reach this morning...i will try...thank you so for your words...warm wishes and brightest blessings~

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  2. If you love to laugh and play, you will never be old! Officer Ron and the Parrot sound hilarious!

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  3. Love this post! It's weird how alike we are. I too color when I'm overly stressed. And I love toys and everything.

    Glad to see that I won't lose that as I get older.

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  4. like you I refuse to grow up.... no matter how much I embarass my kids... ;-) nothing I love more than when i visit my granddaughter and I get to color....

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  5. Age is just numbers Mary.
    I'll share what my mom always said about age on my blog soon...pretty funny.

    Have a great week (o:

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  6. Humor is definitely a coping mechanism for me, and I know what you mean about not feeling or realizing your age. I always forget and have to stop to remember when it comes up, and then I am shocked when I hear how old I am!
    I embrace my inner child and trickster archetype to be sure, and I love being able to get silly with my grandson. But I am also very comfortable hanging out with people who are much younger; often more comfortable than with those of my own age.
    Glad to meet another like me.

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  7. When I was a teen I always felt older than my peers. Once I hit my mid-twenties I began feeling "younger" than my years. I look in the mirror at my 35 year old face and feel like it doesn't match my twenty-eight year old insides.

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  8. I do at least two cartwheels each spring...and collect stuff animals...Hubs brings me one from the store every so often...He's so sweet...

    It's the worst when instead of "Miss" you become a "Ma'am" ... my daughter recently hit that stage...boy did we hear about that one...

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  9. What else to comment but.... Grrrrrrreat post!

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