I can’t begin to estimate how many millions of dollars are spent each year on people wanting to look, feel, act, be younger. After watching several episodes of the real housewives of Orange County, I’m pretty sure those 10 women spend $1 million dollars on their own. And really, well, you’re going to get old anyway, so why waste the money. But these past few weeks, during the cold snap, when my skin has begun it’s annual lizard-up phase, I’ve been thinking about about being younger . . . and I have a couple of solutions – maybe.
I have found that having young children makes you feel younger. Scratch that. . . it puts you in contact with younger people who have kids the same age as yours. With Isaiah just about to turn 3, most of the parents of his peer group are 10 to 15 years my junior. And I flatter myself that we resemble each other in appearance. They are realizing that having children ages you immeasurably. Don’t believe me – go look at your picture taken a year before you had children and then look a year after you’ve had children. That will show you that you’ll age. My fat face tends to hide those ravages, but Jose – well even at 42 – he looks like he’s 25. But before we had Elijah, he looked 12 – so it’s honest to God the absolute truth – as I know it.
I have also found that my chosen profession has extended my youth. Working with high schoolers has kept my interests in music, art, video a bit more current than would have normally occurred. I’m pretty sure that the Road Rules / Real World Challenges don’t really have a near 40 demographic as their target audience. Of course, I don’t think they have any more of those shows – which is a shame, because I really enjoyed them. So much more than the Real World – which makes me feel my age because my relatively lax moral values tend to be offended by people who are getting naked upon meeting strangers. That, and I really no longer have the patience for the self-created drama that the under 25 set is so adept at creating. Not that I’m not a reality show junkie. I’ve even got Jose hooked on the Scott Baio – 46 and pregnant show. Mostly because though we envy his obvious wealth, we both feel superior to his whiny, selfish attitude. Who needs money with all that extra baggage.
Anyway, back to my job. Now that I work with little kids, well, I find that I am able to continue to find my general joy in all things silly and fun. I have always liked doing kid stuff. I am a HUGE fan of a circus. I can stay in the pool all day and not get tired – though I will immediately fall asleep upon arrival at my domicile. I adore animated movies. I like candy. I LOVE to win tickets at Chuck E. Cheese (I’ve accumulated almost 3000 in the past 5 years – I’m saving them up – for what I don’t know because the frugal, thrifty shopper in me knows that the 5000 ticket item only costs 12.00 somewhere – but someday, I’m going to get something really good!).
This year, I’m working for a county school. That means that we have something called – SNOW DAYS. There is nothing that more firmly plants your feet into perpetual childhood than going to sleep on a Sunday night and hoping for snow on a Monday morning. Living in Kentucky makes this aspect of youth very difficult. We get a lot of wasted snow in Kentucky from November to March (most of you call it rain). Most of the other teachers want snow just to have a day off, stay at home, relax. I don’t really get to relax when I stay at home. If Jose’s here, then we have to clean or work or do something. If he’s not here, then it sort of feels like babysitting. But maybe, just maybe we’ll get enough snow that we can all go outside and play for a while. Ride the sled down the tiny little hill in the back yard (short climb up is a plus – sucky ride down – can’t have both).
So, here it is 8:00 PM and I’m getting ready to go to bed – before lights out at 9 PM (childhood bedtimes even as an adult). The forecast is calling for snow – to begin early morning and continue most of the day. And I’m hoping that the school board will decide that it’s safer to just stay at home than it is to go to school on hazardous conditions that will only worsen as the day progresses. More than that. I’m hoping that the weather man is wrong and the 1” will actually be 6” and we’re out of school for the rest of the week. After growing up in Trigg County (where the superintendent apparently thought we had snowmobiles rather than buses for transporation and thus never called off school) and then working the past 8 years for city schools (who never cancel for snow). I am hoping beyond hope to enjoy a few snowdays this year. So I can play in the snow and watch cartoons all day.
