Getting better with age.

People say that things get better with age: wine, cheese, sex, and beef for example. This is a sentiment that I can get behind. My life seems to get better the older that I get, I too seem to improve with age. Things just become easier, maybe it is due to repetition…the more we do something the easier it is, routine almost. Getting through a day becomes a cake walk, you may have your interruptions and delays but at the end of the day…you get cake. However during my short stint in adulthood I have found that there are three situations where I don’t get cake; selecting large pieces of furniture, making/retaining friendships, and getting older.

Picking out furniture for your home is one of the more difficult chores of adulthood. I find myself attracted to items that are not just esthetically pleasing but also quite useful. When I was asked for what gift I wanted for my baby-shower I opted for a glider. After very little consideration I chose a glider, I was pleased with my selection and still am. The glider I picked was like no other; it could be taken apart and washed to help maintain its polished appearance. Let me just say: Just because it ‘says’ it can be taken apart, laundered, and put back together doesn’t me it SHOULD. What bad idea.

Making new/retaining established relationships is difficult as an adult. I have my own theory that is based on the fact that we form kinships during hardships. We have our families that are there through it all, school friends that help you through the awkward years, and the early adult friends that are there as you are learning who you are; but once you have it all figured out how do you make time for the need of companionship? I am lucky that I have several ‘Beaches’ type relationship in my life and a 'Thelma' or two as well; but I could use a good ‘Rachel’, I need someone I can get together with a bit more regularly. I am searching for a local girlfriend who is willing to spend a small time away from the home and family. Someone who can easily get me sidetracked over a cup of coffee or froyo; I’m looking for laughs, monthly ‘girls nights’, and few family get-togethers to help add color to my daily routine. There should be an app for that.

Coming to peace with my age is something that has always come very easily for me; I have always enjoyed the fact that I get older. As mentioned beforehand I have just improved with each year I get to cross off, my thirties have thrown me for a loop though. It has been hard to convince my head that I am getting older. When I look in the mirror I can still fool myself into thinking that I could pass for someone in their twenties, late twenties mind you but twenties nonetheless. Then something very foolish happens, my body (forgetting all reason apparently) gives into my mind and I am coerced into thinking I am 10 feet tall and bullet proof. I will spend hours working in the yard; make countless ‘rounds’ through the neighborhood; or stay up past my bedtime during the week, and the next thing I know I am making inappropriate deals with my alarm clock. I find myself doing yoga in the bathroom just to loosen up my stiff back; turning my lunch hour into ‘nap time’; and making that 2nd pot of coffee just to make it till 3pm. I never expected my thirties to start the joys of middle-age; I assumed that’s what my fifties were for.

There are times when life doesn’t hand me lemons, it chunks them at me, repeatedly. Don’t get me wrong, I am thankful for the journey and the bumps along the way…it’s just getting hard to explain the bruises.