Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Some Ways in Which I Am Old, Some Ways in Which I Am Young

Some Ways in Which I Am An Old Man:

  1. I love prunes, I think they may be my favorite dried fruit and probably one of my top four, in general.
  2. I love looking through old magazine issues of Reminisce: The Magazine that Brings Back the Good Times (written by its old readers for other old readers) and Birds and Blooms
  3. I love rocking chairs (preferably rocking chairs on a quiet porch) and porch swings
  4. Though I am very aware of how the present is better in many ways (technology, in some ways, less prejudices, freer travel, better medicine, etc.) I miss “the good ole days.” Yes, I am aware it's hard to miss something I never knew, but I miss them all the same. I miss kids running around the neighborhood (which I did get to experience when I was a kid), people sitting out on their porches and knowing their neighbors, swimming holes and rope swings, family game nights, sitting around and reading aloud together, taffy pulls, sleigh rides, and ice skating on a creek or local pond. I know some of these are still attainable and I'm going to try my best to provide them to my future kids.
  5. I love handwritten letters, yes, I know I'm horrible at writing back when people write me, but I still love them.
  6. My joints have creaked for years and I already get a few hairs that grow out of my ears (I pluck them, of course).
Some Ways in Which I Am a Child:

  1. I still like climbing trees and jungle gyms.
  2. I still like playing in the rain (I've been called a “duck” by a dear friend)
  3. I still like catching lightening bugs and stopping to look at other bugs
  4. I like to experience my surroundings by multiple senses. When walking in the woods, I touch trees and moss as I go by, I stop to smell flowers, I like to shut my eyes to listen to waterfalls and brooks, and I love to close my eyes when it's really windy and just feel. Oh, and I love to put my head out the window (when someone else is driving), but I guess this is more like a dog than a child.
  5. I like to show and/or give little things to people who are special to me. You know, like little kids enjoy showing you rocks or leaves or a piece of lint they found in their bellybutton (I may or may not show you the last one).
  6. I have a poor concept of time, other than always being a little early for things, time doesn't mean much to me, days, months, years...some days are longer than years are, at least sometimes a year seems to drift away more quickly than some days pass.
  7. If people 10 and up (most kids younger than that are horrible hiders) wanted to play hide and seek in the dark, I would love that. Looking back I probably wasn't that fun to play with, sometimes I would find a really good spot and just stay hidden there for multiple seeker switches (maybe that's the introvert side of me coming out, I was content to listen to the other people hiding and going to seek).

I could probably think of more to put on both lists, but I don't want to bore any who bother to read this. I guess I just wanted to share a little bit more of me. I know most of these things are things which are stereotypically associated with one age group or another but many on both ends may enjoy something I've mentioned. I guess "age," just like extrovertedness/introvertedness, beauty, and so many other things in our life is actually on a spectrum, is somewhat relative, and you cannot judge everyone based on a simple measurement. I firmly believe the passing of time is relative in multiple ways.

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