Being Thirty (something)

"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." - Ferris Bueller


Who knew that Ferris Bueller could sum up life in two lines (from one of the greatest movies of the 80s)? It's so true. One minute I was sixteen, in high school, enjoying all life had to offer and the next thing I know, I'm (gasp) mid-thirties! Where the hell did my life go?

Yes, my life has pretty much turned out how I thought it would. Married. Check. Kids. Check. House. Check. Cars. Check. Boat (not necessarily something I thought I would have, but I do). Check. Now what? The next big birthday I will celebrate will be 40. What happened to the days when you couldn't wait to turn 13, 16, 18, 21! I mean, big things happened on those birthdays. I'm a teenager! I can drive! I'm an adult, I can vote (OK, not really something that I got overly excited about, but it's what happens when you turn 18)! And the BEST birthday year, turning 21 - I can (legally) get into a bar and drink myself into oblivion!!!! After that, what's there to look forward to except responsibilities, getting wrinkles and the ability to put on weight in the blink of an eye but take six months to take off those last five pounds!


Yes, I've learned a hell of a lot. Mainly that I'm old. I work in the advertising industry with a bunch of babies - and not babies in the sense of "boo-hoo" but babies in the sense of, I just got out of college and this is my first job! Ummm...I graduated high school the year you were born. Did you know that in college, checking email was not just a matter of whipping out my cell phone but a matter of trudging to the computer lab, to the special computer area and waiting in line until one of the email computers became available? Yes, there were certain computers we had to use. You were screwed if you were trying to sneak in quickly between classes, because it was never quick.


You see, the thing about being thirty something is that you now have the life experiences to know what you are talking about. For example, your parents were right 95% of the time. I've turned into my parents. I hear myself telling my kids some of the exact same things I heard as a kid (and I laugh). I now know why my mother always tells me to drive safely (even today). I have a good ten years before my first born is of driving age and I shudder at the thought of my baby behind the wheel of a car. And don't get me started thinking about dating - nope, they are both going to be shut in their rooms and not be able to interact with the opposite sex, EVER. 


We grow up way too fast. I guess in another 15 years, I'll be wishing to be thirty (something) again!