Age is Really Just a Number

    Something major hit me today. So major, I don't know how to deal with it. I realized I'm just a really old person trapped in a 20 year old's body. I'm babysitting for my little cousin, like I do every Thursday. I put her down for her nap and switched the channel from Sesame Street to The Bold and the Beautiful. I've turned into my grandmother. I went from spending my days sleeping till noon and going out with my friends all the time to waking up early and watching soap operas and reading Danielle Steele books. (Which, by the way, if you haven't read Johnny Angel, you're missing out. It's my favorite book) There was no middle ground. It just went from high school to old. I haven't hit retirement home stage yet, although I'm looking forward to it.

    I can tell you exactly what's going on in the CBS soaps. (they should bring back As the World Turns. just a side note) I could tell you who in the world Brooke is married to today and how everyone's lives have changed after SPOILER ALERT: Stephanie's death. I play Slot games. I am addicted to Bingo. Too addicted. It's scary. The Vegas Bingo app kills me. I sit there and play it all day. I should just start crocheting too. I'm surprised I haven't learned yet. I haven't gotten into the Alfred Dunner clothing yet.

    When I was little, I used to go to my Noni's everyday. Everyday I'd eat my cereal and watch TV with Noni. At lunch, I always had peanut butter and jelly and we'd watch the Price is Right and the local news. Then it was nap time. I'd take a nap and Noni would watch her "stories." She never changed the channel at all. It was always on CBS. We'd watch Montel and MASH. Now, when I go visit Noni, it's pretty much the same. I stop by in between glasses and eat my sandwich and watch The Young and the Restless and the Bold and the Beautiful. Sometimes, I do actually take a nap during them. We watch Judge Judy and Judge Joe Brown. On the weekends, she watches the Game Show Network. There's nothing else on TV, ya know. Granda is either working or sitting in his chair watching Dreamgirls. Dreamgirls is one of my favorite movies. Guess what? It's his favorite movie, too.

     Even if I escape this routine and do something else, it's still the same. I just switch to CNN and see what's happening in the world. I watch Hardball with Chris Matthews. I think, "hey, young people watch this stuff." Young people don't even know who Chris Matthews is. I go to my Nana's and what are they watching? Hardball with Chris Matthews. She and Grandpa watch it for completely different reasons, but it still applies. I sit there with them and Grandpa will talk about the fiscal cliff or what is it now? The sequester. Nana sits there and says, "That's a really nice tie he has on today. Jack, I'm gonna look for one like that for you."

     What's even better is that most of the time I enjoy conversations with my grandparents more than anyone else. They don't complain about stupid crap. They don't tell me pointless stories about how some person they're "in to" doesn't like them back. They don't talk about silly drama that they create themselves. WHO CARES? I don't. So I go to talk to my grandparents about ice cream, the news, our family, pasta sauce, family history, Parade Day, the On Demand feature on the television, suitcases, what Michelle Obama is wearing, Chris Matthews, Chinese food, Hillary's hair, Hillary's job, Hillary's pantsuits, Hillary's life, movies, basketball, Sharon Osbourne, good television, Walmart, and many other interesting and important things.

     This has become my own life. And I don't care. Life is great. Age is just a number. I feel like I'm at an advantage. I have the mind of an old folk, and the body of a 20 year old. DING DING. I win. On slotomania just now but also in real life. I am an old person. Or, as my twitter friend Sunny tells me, "You're an old soul in a young body."