Me with My Big Age

A few weeks ago, during an interview I was conducting with a cardiologist for an article, I responded to an inquiry he had by saying, “Let me check my Rolodex.”

Talk about showing your age!

Luckily, the guy was even older than me so he understood the reference and laughed (with me, not at me—at least I think so) when I joked that I was really dating myself with that word.

But here’s the thing … I’m 52. I’m old—and I like being this age. I could do without some of the side effects, but overall, it’s not that bad.

Sure, I have gray hair and wrinkles, poor vision and bad hearing, creaky joints, weird aches, and a touch of incontinence, but don’t we all? There’s comfort in knowing I’m not alone. Plus, we have a never-ending stream of funny memes on social media to soften the blow of midlife reality.

Case in point, these are just a few I came across this week …

They’re funny because they’re true. #IYKYK.

But as comfortable as I am with my age, I don’t really like being called old. I can call myself old, but it stings a little when someone else—particularly someone younger—says it to me. (And moreso when it’s said about me.) That’s why I’m borrowing an expression I heard a woman on social media use to refer to her own middle-age status: “Me with my big age” …

Get used to it because I’m owning that phrase for myself now.

SIDE NOTE: If I could find the video or remember her name, I’d of course give her proper credit. But alas, my big age prevents me from remembering such details.

You know what else I’m owning? All the things younger people say make me old. Things I enjoy, like going to bed early, the music in the grocery store, that first night sleeping on clean bed sheets, new kitchen tools, and staying home (to name just a few).

Again, the memes are funny because they’re true.

You may have be thinking I didn’t have much to say in this post that I haven’t said before, and that this post was just an excuse to use a bunch of funny, age-related memes I’ve been saving in my files.

You’re not wrong. I write what I know, and what I know is I’m getting older, and funny memes make it easier.

So now that the cat’s out of the bag, I might as well conclude with one more meme—one of my favorites that I also think describes me to a tee these days …