Am I just getting dumber, or older?

I am starting to have a appreciation for a few clichés I never really understood until now, a few days before yet another thirty something birthday.


“I have forgotten more than you know.”
Realizing exactly how much I have forgotten and how much my kids know, makes me incredibly sad, and makes me wish I didn’t kill off so many brain cells in my youth that might come in handy now.



“I tried so hard not to be like my mother, I turned into my father.”
Oh baby is this weird to realize came to fruition. If you knew my father, you’d understand why the prospect of hanging out in a tree for hours on with a shotgun to shoot a wild turkey only to decide best practice is to jump on its back and break its neck… is not something I am looking forward to deciding was a rational plan, sometime in my future. I am sure that sometimes in my father’s history, he thought… why would I ever do that? And yet, if I have turned into my father, I might start practicing my goat castration methods now.

“Women age like a fine wine.”
Yeah, well this one didn’t work out so well for me yet. However there is a certain complacency that comes from knowing you are not meant to be the one turning the heads in the room. It’s almost like being promoted to a supervisor position on a shift the big boss has gone home. You are not the expert, but a sufficient substitute to judge that the job is getting done… just not by you.



“Drink more, Look better!”
I have a feeling this might be put to the test this weekend on our girls weekend out in Atlantic City. I would be lying if I didn’t say here, that I am a little frightened. I am no longer the alcohol coinsure I was in my 20’s and I believe I can now officially be categorized as a light weight, which is probably the only time I will make the light weight of any category other than say, French history or Latin, or math. Ok, maybe there is a few others… shut up.

I know now why cliché’s were invented. Because as we age, our brains need a few things to say in every situation when our brains click onto autopilot to keep us from just standing there drooling on ourselves.

Friendships

Recently there was an article in the news that professed in a very unscientific manner, that romance novels were the most popular summer reads, and that this was unhealthy for Americans because it gave an unrealistic view of love, romance and marriage. While I simply laughed and changed the channel, I can’t help but to sit here today and wonder where my unrealistic views of friendship derive from, and wish it were easy enough to blame it all on Danielle Steel.



I am a very good read of people. I usually know what they are about, how they are feeling and pick up intuitively clues to their humor and personality pretty easily. However, understanding someone and being friends with someone are two very different things. Women and friendships are like children going through puberty… very fulfilling and volatile and totally depends on which way the wind is blowing. There are no good human behavior predictors to knowing how women in friendships will flush out.
Heartbreak is a risk when entering into friendship, but one we all do again and again without hesitation because the pay offs can be so good. It seems sometimes the fast friendships where things just click and mold right away, can be the most disappointing friendships when they end. Finding characteristics in others that fit exactly what we need, is sometimes harder than breaking up with a boyfriend when things go wrong.

But when things go right, or you have that unexpected kindness in someone you didn’t expect it from is when you know you are on the right track. With moving around so much, making friends was something I always thought I was good at, but keeping them happy seems to be another story. After my forty hours of entertainment is up, it seems I get tossed away like a dirty paper towel while watching my soul mates find better friends version 2.0. Truth is, moving around with the military, there are a lot more reasons to start and end friendships which make me feel often times like a drama mama. But those friendships that come easily and have many rewards are cherished just that much more.

Today, I will do my best to continue to be a good friend. Today, I am grateful for those who are a good friend to me.

Thank you J.Marie.