Today I found out two things. The first is just disturbing, and the second, while doesn’t really make up for the first, actually makes me feel a little better about it.
The first thing I found out is that I’m considered middle aged. I really didn’t know I was middle aged. Evidently I have been this way for almost five years now. Silly me, I thought I had another five years before I would get here! Yes…I plan to live past 100, damn it!
With very few exceptions, I feel the same as I did 20 years ago. There are some things that don’t work as well, but then there are others that work much, much better. To be honest…I like the tradeoff. And so do some others who shall remain nameless;).
All kidding aside, I would not trade an ounce of the experience and knowledge I have gained over the years to go back to being 20 years younger. I had no patience for 20 somethings when I was a 20 something. I would never want to be in a position to have to speak with them on a regular basis.
What made me feel a little better about all this is that I learned after hearing about the book “The Secret Life of the Grown Up Brain,” by Barbara Strauch, is that when I walk into the kitchen, and can’t remember why I’m there, that it is completely normal for someone my age. Still, I would rather remember that I went into the room to get a fork, than have to walk back to the livingroom, sit down, and find that I forgot…for the umpteenth time, the fork I went into the kitchen for in the first place. It irritates me to such a point, that I have resolved to only make things I can eat with my fingers. And yes…I have even forgotten to bring in a plate on occasion. However, I usually just use the arm of the couch anyway. Being single, and male, has its advantages.
According to Strauch, even with this mild memory issue it turns out that the older I get, I have a greater capacity to organize complex thoughts and ideas. This explains why I can hold in my head the differing tenets of diametrically opposed social, political, and religious views, understand the dynamics of each, the personalities involved in an issue, and the outcomes of each argument, but can still spend 20 minutes looking for my cell phone while I’m holding it next to my head, and using it to talk to someone on the other line.
So being able to hold complex thoughts is a plus. It helps in understanding the world right now. It’s not that the world has changed much. It’s just that now I actually understand where everyone is coming from. I just wish I could remember where I left my keys so I could go somewhere else.