Live the Pooh way

Age is just a number.

My goodness. Where to start on this one?
How old is old? How do we define past it and past what? I mean, in my head, I still feel like I'm in my 20s. Love this quote!

I still feel young in my head as do my family and friends when I speak to them. A few of us are kind of still in a little 80s/90s bubble and I'm happy to revisit there! I won't be drinking the Mad Dog 20/20 though! Another good quote. Made me laugh!

I had a little giggle to myself thinking of the times in the last 5 (only 5? Come on, 10 at least) years that I've felt too old for the situation I was in.
I kind of laugh because, basically, when I turned 40, and in the run up to it, I was really excited. Why the heck? What was all that about? Well, I was. I didn't even have a kareoke, surprise party and I'd dropped enough hints! But still, I was so excited and giddy opening all my prezzies. Saying that  one was a Nespresso coffee machine. Say no more.
I kept telling people how mature I felt and that people were going to have to take me seriously now. People were taken aback by my new attitude. Even I was! Perhaps I knew, it was marking the end of childhood, as in this quote!

It lasted all of a week I think! It lasted until the doctor's letter dropped on my door mat. How bad can a MOT at 40 be? Well, not too bad, on the presumption you are not going to fail it! And fail it, big time is what I did! Since then, I've kind of been on redial with the doctors. I'm just glad I have such a brilliant doctors!
I think at work, you take it for granted that you are moving on and you are not the youngest anymore. It hits you how you have aged when younger colleagues don't know famous people. I remember me being appalled that they didn't know certain people.
Who is Kenny Everett? Hey? In the words of Ricky Gervais,
"Are you having a laugh?"
Honestly, they did not know who this Radio, TV icon was! Even after I did my 'best possible taste leg change over (in trousers). I was just left with two very young teachers looking at me slightly aghast! I had to Google him then and that's when I realised I'd been laughing along, at quite a young age, with Cupid Stunt. Excellent word play! But then, these were the times of slap stick comedy, when the whole family laughed along with Benny Hill and Ken Dodd and his tickling stick. Give me Fawlty Towers any day!
I'll never forget being in the Chennells pub a few years ago, far more sober than in my student days. Three things:
How sticky are those carpets?
Did we really all pile in to just one toilet, drinks in our hands and share the cubicle? Really?
How friendly are strangers in Ladies toilets on a night out? You end up leaving best of pals and totally taking their side in the latest fall out with their partner!
Another time, I was in there with a younger colleague, singing along passionately to every single word of Meatloaf, Paradise by the Dashboard Light. I did wonder when she'd join in and perhaps take the part of Bonnie Tyler. At the end, she waited for me to recompose mysrlf then stated something about what rubbish they played from the 80s!
'Aca scuse me!"
One, the 80s was the best decade of music I have lived through and two, never diss Meatloaf! I was like, I'm definitely not sharing a toilet cubicle with you luv!
Other times have been on various nights out when, forgetting the last time you actually ordered this drink was in fact 1998, you are given a look of confusion and added a gin and tonic because you look that particular age that they can't go wrong with a gin! I must admit, recently, I have seen more Taboo and Archers on sale. Still hard pushed to get a Blue Bols and lemonade though!
Nights out, out are rare and normally consist of a meal and a 'who can find the nearest settee' game after. On finding the nearest settee you either want to eat the entire contents of the bar nibbles on offer or just go to sleep. This probably is a sign of aging. Saying that though, I know some older women who can give teenagers a run for their money! I'd just rather hand over the money and have no running involved! We do try to keep up and stay out as long as possible, ordering liquor coffees, (Tia Maria) to disguise the fact we are completely shattered but we want to appear like we can still party like it's 1999!
We now have more nights in. I nearly bought a keychain saying, Netflix and Chill until I was told what it meant! By nights in, I mean movie nights with popcorn and gin! A good night for us friends is watching Cocktail, with a cocktail whilst wishing we had Elizabeth Shue's hair! Again, if I said this at my hairdressers, half of the salon would say,
"Who?"
Other nights in consist of taking it in turns to hold 'parties'. Not of the swapping keys variety either! It's much more civilised and my last, lovely party was a Body Shop party. I did joke and say that she wasn't here to give us a new body! I once over shared in the staff room of one my teaching jobs. I never learned! I just thought people would be with me on this one. I wrongly guessed that the staff went to Ann Summer's parties when they were in their twenties.
Blank faces. Oh dear. Carry the story on.
And when you went to those parties in your twenties, you ordered quite a few things ....
No reaction. A few people by now looking down at their dinner.
But once you get into your forties, you just buy a raffle ticket!
Phew! Story over. Anybody?
No. Only me then!
I think we are in denial. When I watch the brilliant 80s films like Pretty in Pink, The Breakfast Club and St Elmo's Fire, it only seems 20 years ago we were lusting after Rob Lowe and Andrew McCarthy! When actually, as reminded by friends, it was more like 30! Rob Lowe has definitely aged well and I'm loving watching him on the itv detective series Wild Bill.
What really gets you is when you see your friend's teenagers walking about with Nirvana T-shirts and listening to Oasis. It's so weird that we are now in the same boat as our parents saying proudly that they actually saw The Beatles and The Stones live the first time round!
What probably plays with our minds is the fact we still feel young in our heads and hearts. Our body thinks otherwise though! When we reminisce a lot, these fun, fab, carefree times we revisit quite often do seem nearer to us.
What's great about aging is definitely the fact that you are more aware time us more precious. I've wasted so much time. But then the me that likes the positive quotes remember that this in itself is a lesson, therefore it wasn't a waste of time!
I've already written a blog about the joys of aging disgracefully that celebrated the aging process. I loved the quote I used telling you not to worry about getting old but to worry about thinking old. Such a brilliant way of looking at it.

I mean, I'm always thinking young. Perhaps too much! I am definitely in touch with my inner child; she comes out a lot. I have kept the curious part of me as a child. A lot of that probably comes from teaching with the excitement of the kids as they learned new things rubbing off on me. You're never too old to keep learning. Stay curious!

Act your age. Hey? Who knows what someone my age should act like? I've not had experience of this age before!

Should age really come into it? I was looked after by an amazing staff nurse the other day. She was so efficient, knew her stuff, put me at ease and was so kind. She told me she was in her seventies, bless her. I'd like to think I'm that blooming good at my job in my seventies!
When I look around at my fab circle of close family and friends, age does not come into it at all. It's about souls connecting on a much deeper level. Generations all bond and have a lovely time. Years ago, I became very good friends with a friend's mum. It took me a bit to stop referring to her as 'my friend's mum' because she then became a lovely friend. We have so much in common and we are friends, no matter what our ages.