Age Is Just A Number...

The problem is deciding which number others want you to be and the number you want to choose!!!

Just when I was getting used to being 26, that time of the year had come again. I have never felt the urge to grow up faster or the desire to go back in time. I am too busy living in the present to think about the future or to reminisce about the past. Too excited about the silly stuff linked to birthdays to worry about anything serious. And except for that one moment of depression that I suffer from; the rest of day I am pretty much happy. All because I have this silly superstition that the kind of things I do on my birthday will determine how the next year is gonna be. So, I try my best to be on my best behaviour; trying not to lie, not to pick fights with anyone, not get angry, be impatient, etc etc. Whew, it's exhausting being so goodie-goodie!!! Well, I survived the day with very little damage and a lot of fun!

Grey hair and wrinkles, I can handle with ease. Coz whenever they do appear, I will be frantically shopping for hair-dyes and a good cosmetologist. The difficult part is to handle the responsibilities. And this when I haven't even started shouldering any major responsibilities. Am still going with the flow, wanting all the fun and no worries. Delaying major decisions because it's such a pain in the you-know-where!

Have noticed though that the list of things that I could get away with a tilt of the head and an ever-ready excuse "Oh, but I don't know how to do it!" seems to be dwindling. Not that I miss being dependent on others, but the tilt and the excuse have come in handy when I wanted to shirk work. And I am not planning to let go of them anytime soon. Ahh but the harsh truth is, the things that a teen can get away with don’t really suit a woman of 27. (Note to self : Maybe I should just save the tilt for special occasions from now on.)

Do I feel older, wiser, mature, calmer? Well, on some days yes, and on some days no. And age has got nothing to do with it. That's why they say that Age is just a number. And I choose to be 27 today, maybe tomorrow I will feel like being 30, or 20 the day after that...

I Am 16, Going On ...

16...that I am definitely not anymore. In fact, almost a decade has passed since then. And anyways, I feel that it is just a hyped-up number.Wonder why other birthdays don't get this kind of attention. No wait, there's 13 when The Wonder Years begin (also known as The Torturous Years for the parents). 18, the legal adult age or for some an age when they can officially bring out the whisky bottles from their hidey-holes. And for guys at 21; if they haven't managed to get a girlfriend after school or college, they can get a girlfriend for life through their parents.

That's it. After that, every birthday becomes a reminder that you are nearing the dreaded age, the thirties!! As far as I am concerned, I have never bothered to hide my age. Last year, I couldn't remember my age at times, and thought that I had already turned 25. So this year, when I finally did cross 25, it was no big deal. Except for that one moment, where I freaked out, and tried to think of all that I have accomplished (the list was too small) , mentally compiled a list of my bloopers (sadly it was too long) and checked my head to reassure myself that I don't need to color my hair yet (Yeaaaahh!!.....touchwood). But later, better sense prevailed, and I reminded myself that I have so much to look forward to. Things are just getting started.

But there were some subtle and some not so subtle ways where other people reminded me of my age. The jokes about looking old were the most mundane. But this one took the cake, my voice sounded old! Now, I am pretty sure that I have not started rasping or wheezing. I didn't bother telling that person, that the male voice breaks after puberty. Does it mean that we should call 16 year olds uncles just because their voice has started sounding like their dad?? And then there are those friends who take great pride in having studied in the same class with me in school or college in spite of being born a year later. Like the timing of their conception and birth is some kind of achievement!!

I have a habit of tuning out comments (be it good or bad), it turns out to be a boon in situations like these. But it is quite hard not to snigger. Have I passed any such comment? Sure I have (I never said I was a saint). But not out of malice or with the intention of one-upping anyone. I wonder how I would feel about this five years from now. Would I still be able to brush it off as lightly as I do today? For now, I am just going to have my cake and eat it too!!