Age Appropriate
This is where someone of a certain age is dressing as a teenager and doesn’t manage to pull it off? Well sorry to disappoint although there are many stories one could tell, but honestly who am I to judge?
No my musings today are about a rather surprising “situation” I found myself in and I wonder if you’ve ever experienced this too?
So without giving away my actual age in print you may know or have guessed I am middle aged and have no particular issue with it. Just recently I had a longer than usual visit to the UK and found myself in the company of people in their 60s, 70s and 80s and very jolly they were too. Many of them had children that were around my age or indeed older. However what was a tad disconcerting, rather than treat me as an adult equivalent I was very much looked upon “fondly” as one might say. Not as a child per se but more child-like in that I probably needed advice and guidance and I might find certain situations difficult to cope with.
This was all done with the utmost kindness I hasten to add, with no condescension whatsoever, but as a fairly robust woman used to dealing with life I found it made me want to shout “do you know who I am?” And not in a Reese Witherspoon I’m drunk and you should not be arresting me as I am a famous actress, kinda way. But more in a “do you realize I am actually quite capable thank you?”
On this trip I also experienced the exact opposite whereby I was spending time with teenagers and they clearly saw me as not just middle aged but positively old! And I completely understand, I remember as a teenager calculating how old I would be when the Millennium rolled around and thinking in alarm I couldn’t imagine being that old or in fact even being alive!! Well looky here I am, cough, cough.
Having often been the youngest in groups of friends, school, work, sibling etc etc it was a shocker to accept albeit rather belatedly I was never going to be considered youngest again.
This whole scenario although inevitable perhaps also left me a bit off kilter. Because here I was in the equivalent of age no-man’s land, neither here nor there. I was neither old enough to know better nor young enough to not care, not old enough to be regarded sensibly, not young enough to even be remotely cool. You see I don’t even know the right words to use!
Did it prevent me from accomplishing what I needed to do, enjoy myself etc etc, no of course not but it was perplexing I have to say. So have you ever experienced this or am I over-thinking this? I’d love to know, do tell?
Look Gorgeous, Feel Fabulous – Sophie
P.S. oh and if you have any good Mutton dressed as Lamb stories, do tell those as well, I promise I’ll publish them anonymously!