On growing old

We all have that one dear friend who always forgets our birthdays. Sometimes it is even fun to pretend that we are hurt by their lack of interest in our lives. I do it all the time. Playing with their guilty feeling is amusing. But as I write this down I have a feeling that it just makes me a horrible person. Nowadays if somebody forgets my birthday and calls me after a few weeks, I tell them that there is nothing fun about growing old.

Do you remember that time when you were young and stupid and all you wanted to do was to grow up and have a life of your own without any parental dictatorship? I do. So when I finally landed in 20s and became financially independent, there was a euphoric feeling. Unfortunately that feeling does not last long. It gets eclipsed by a list of societal expectations and adult responsibilities. I never gave a damn about societal expectations and to this day I live life in my own terms. 20s was in fact the best years. So naturally it made me worry that life is going to be entirely different if I turn 30.

30s is the time when we realize that we are not young anymore and honestly I feel that we are not that old also. It took me a couple of years to figure out that life is not going to change overnight after crossing 30. I had this belief that there won't be any new friendships in life after a certain age. I couldn't have been more wrong. I met the most amazing people in my late 20s and early 30s. They have enriched my life in more ways than I can count.

The only real concern about growing old is learning to accept how differently our bodies behave from the hyper active 20s. It takes time and patience. But after a certain period, i understood that the only thing we can do for our body is to nourish it with good food, exercise and rest. We simply cannot override aging even though the numerous beauty commercials say otherwise.

For now, I look forward to growing old. Some days I have this vision of a small statured old lady with a head full of grey hairs looking back and smiling at me whenever I look in the mirror. I always smile back at her.