Growing Younger

Yes, I believe that I am growing younger or maybe I’m just growing into myself. That’s not to say that I don’t still do childish things. Maybe that’s one reason why I feel younger I’m still a child, a child misbehaving in a woman’s body.

A couple of weeks ago I was at a party people with friends from my writing program. The conversation turned to age and things we did when we were younger. I proudly announced my age and began talking about back in the day when I noticed people were looking and laughing at me. I was explaining the size and price of pot back when I smoked the stuff. I realized that they thought I was joking and reciting some sort of when I was girl we walked 20 miles to school in the snow story.

There was a man was sitting next to me that I’d known for almost a year. He turned and said, “You’re kidding right?” I replied, “No.” He was a little drunk. I say this because his date was sitting next to him while he looked me up and down and announced, “I didn’t know that. God you’re hot!”

Later he opened his shirt and showed me chest hair. Somehow this gesture was supposed to convince me that he was a good writer and worthy of publication in my ezine. I already wanted him to write for the mag but I was not to be out done by male chest thumping. “Oh, I said (heavy on the sarcasm), “why didn’t you show that to me sooner. Chest hair is like gold and makes all the difference in world.” The jibes sort of escalated after that into an embarrassing pissing contest of flirting.

I am very competitive and was not going to back down, politely blush and quietly remind him about his date. No one of us was going to see the other in the halls of learning and hide a bit shame faced and it was NOT going to be me.

And it wasn’t. Now this was delightfully juvenile of me and sure enough I look several years younger now. The other surprising side effect is that I look like I’ve lost weight and gained a cup size in my bra. No kidding!

Maybe the great thing about getting older is not taking everything so seriously. It’s liberating, the place I find myself these days.