Then and now.


So I previously wrote about what I know now and what I wish I knew then. (I really appreciated so many of you reading it by the way!)  It started me thinking that being older is really great!  At the same time, I thought of more of the differences between then and now. The term, “it’s not the years, it’s the mileage” really starts to mean something here.

I really do hope none of you are doing some of the crazy things I did. And before you get any ideas, I will never tell them here, lest “they” find me. =)

I just wanted to share some differences in having fun, then and now:

1. THEN: Climbing trees – Because there is nothing more fun and frightening at 9 than getting to the highest limb.  NOW: Climbing the stairs to the tenth floor – ‘Oh God…*wheeze*….please….let….
*cough*…..me….make….*gasp*….it?!?...(without passing out) – Because there is nothing more frightening at 39 than thinking you’ll have a heart attack in a stairwell.
2. THEN: Skinny dipping at the beach in the moonlight – Because I can. NOW: Lounging on the floaty at the apartment pool, fully suited – Because I can’t get myself into the skinny anymore.
3. THEN: Dancing the night away in gay bars – “It’s raining men, hallelujah, it’s raining men!” NOW: Dancing around the mess in my teenagers room – “Now your Mom threw away your best porno mag!”
4. THEN: Constantly on the go – I had places to be, people to see and things to do. NOW: Constantly on the couch – Nowhere to go, no one to see and I’m pretty certain I don’t have to do THAT anymore.
5. THEN: Playing depressing music by all my favorite New Wave bands – I am teenage angst, hear me whimper. NOW: Playing uplifting music by all my favorite New Age bands – I am confident and fulfilled, hear my song!
6. THEN: Hanging out at the local record store – Cos I was cool like that. NOW: Hanging out at the local video game store – Cos I’m still cool like that.
7. THEN: Riding on a Harley – Sun, sand, surf, bugs, rain, broke down on the side of the road! NOW: Riding in an airplane – Much faster, plus my jeans don’t ride up in my crotch as much.
8. THEN: Drinking the night away with friends – Sex and drugs and rock n roll! NOW: Watching “Friends” on tv, drinking water – Cos “those” kind of friends I can do without.
9. THEN: Having sex all night with my lover – Who needs sleep? NOW: Sleeping 8 hours in a row – Who needs sex?
10. THEN: Hanging out all day at the canal, roller skating, fishing for crabs and jellyfish, playing jacks – I was a kid, that’s what kids do! NOW: Wishing I was hanging out all day at the canal, roller skating, fishing for crabs and jellyfish, playing jacks – I am an adult now, that’s what adults do.

The next time you are having fun, remember it, that way it will last forever. You’ll have rich memories to make you smile, some that will break your heart and some that will be nothing but priceless when you get older.

As Auntie Mame said: “Life is a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death!”

So I say, “Get out there and start eating!”

~Tet~