I felt old at work

I am 47, I don’t hide my age.  I don’t mind pushing fifty.  I have always felt you have to grow old, but you don’t have to grow up.

Every now and then something is said, that does remind me I am getting older.  I thought I would share some of those stories.

First one, a reporter at KSN.  I won’t say his real name, because he’s a nice guy and I don’t want to embarrass him.  He asked, “Hey Kevin, when did you start here?”  I proudly said, “I started here in 96.”  He responded with, “That was the year I was born.”  Ok, that stung just a little.

A few weeks later, the same reporter put my age into perspective once again.  He walked by my desk singing, “Aw, but ain’t that America for you and me/Ain’t that America somethin’ to see, baby.”  It took me a second to realize what he was singing, then I turned around and asked him, “Were you just singing Mellencamp.” He says, “Yes, I think he’s great.”  I asked inquisitively, “Really?”  He responded, “Yeah, my dad raised me on the oldies.”  Dammit!  Why did I even ask?

Another moment happened a few years later at the Workforce Center.  One of my favorite co-workers, young, early 20’s, asked what year I graduated college.  I told her, 1996.  She said, “oh that was the year my parents got married.”  I need a pillow to yell into right now.

Final one, I was recently at my part time gig at Bath and Body Works at Towne West. Two teens came in to get some help. They were looking for a birthday gift for their mom. I asked a few questions to try to get them to the best scent. I politely asked, “How old is your mom?’ The teen girl said, “she is old.” Her brother added, “yea, old, really old, she turns 40 today.” I showed them some options and then walked away while they debated between Japanese Cherry Blossom and Hello Beautiful. I went over to my boss, Melissa, kind of shaking my head. She was already laughing and said, “you know you walked right into that, you asked.” The truth hurts.

I’m going to leave this blog open ended as I am sure there will be more additions to come.