Too Old?

"You're getting too old to be moving around, you need to settle down, before you're too old to find a job," my mother replied after a discussion concerning the active search of a new home for myself, the hub and our two daughters.

I had to fight the urge to lift my right foot up off the floor after this comment; she was making it sound as if I'd one foot in the grave.

"Too old, at thirty-three?" I've barely begun to wrinkle, I'm still at the PC age for having babies, and I've yet to color my hair for the soul reason of covering the gray.

Too old?

The thing about age, or aging, is that I like it. Oh sure there are things I don't like - the loss of my younger metabolism, a quicker healing rate and did I mention my younger figure? Age has allowed me to mature, to acquire greater self-respect, to be calm and cool where I used to be uptight and most of all to realize more than ever anything is possible.

Some of the people that I've admired most in my life have accomplished the most amazing things when they were older.

For example, the Crawford's from my church back in the eighties. Helen Crawford was my first grade school teacher and my Sunday school teacher and took something of a liking to me. She and her husband traveled out of the U.S. for a year in Israel under what I believe was a teacher exchange program. While they were there Helen sent me the most beautiful fabrics, cards and a lovely bookmark decorated with dried flowers from the region.

I certainly know the Crawford's were not in their 30s, 40s, and possibly not even their 50s at the time they scooted out of the country for an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and adventure.

So what exactly is old? When is old? Is old when you have kids who are sequestered in elementary, graduating from high school or college? Is old when you hit the ten year mark at work, 20 year, maybe if you're lucky, especially in our economic climate, you've had the opportunity to work for a company for 30 years?

What do you say to the elderly woman at 80 who decides to go skydiving for her birthday? Are we obligated to tell her, you're too old, sorry, go hang your hat up at the retirement home? To the forty year old who decides to go to college; you're too old?

I've never had an outlook that I had to get such-n-such done before I was a certain age, at least, beyond having kids. I don't want to put too much pressure on the ol' bod, but even then, who's to say or tell anyone, you're too old to have a baby?

Too old?

Never.

Originally published in the Daily Advocate 2007.

Bethany J. Royer-DeLong is currently entrenched at home fighting the good war against the gimmes and the I-don't-wannas. She blogs recklessly, as all mothers of children under the age of five should, and has been working on that "supposed" great American novel, times a dozen. You can visit her at motherofthemunchkins.blogspot.com and email her at broyerdelong@yahoo.com