Being Young: Growing Old

I never thought about this before. And it is not about looks. Incidentally, I must admit that I was lured into hunting for the product which shows the not- so- young glamorous thing advertising for a brand of anti-wrinkle cream. I went looking for it at the store. One look at the price tag of the tiny bottle ( it did not look so small in the ad!) had me convinced about the need to age gracefully.

My thoughts are about being young, younger and youngest. It is fine when you are young – as by the number that you fill as age in various forms. Between the ages of 0-12, that may mean being pampered ( a wee bit I must admit), bullied ( it does happen all the time) or spoilt ( no, I never was – my brother might debate about that). But the youngest by law of nature does grow old too. Now, that is the subject of this post.

As the kids grow and leave home, you cannot look around for someone to answer the door, the phone, the small errands. It takes more than a little effort. And consider family outings. Especially the last one. Two in the 50s , two in the 60s and two approaching 80s. Not that I mind getting up while an elder (relatively…) walks in, or offering to help clear the table. This comes naturally and ungrudgingly. On the positive side, some pampering does happen here too!

But it was not easy when we went out in a six seater van. Six seats – the seating by itself comfortable and not a problem. Getting in…Oh, that was! … ‘the youngest’ had to balance on this tiny projected piece of metal that had to pass off as a step, double up to avoid receiving a nasty bump on the head, all in wedding finery. Now, that WAS difficult. And one hoped the ride continued forever. As getting out was even tougher.

Phew! It then dawned on me that being young(er) as you age is difficult and demanding. I’m sure Bryan Adam’s did not even remotely think of my predicament. But, I might as well resign to being ‘ 18 till I die’