How old are you, and who cares???

Monday was my 32nd birthday. Every year, someone different asks "Do you feel XX years old?" and I usually give some cliche respone such as having been told I have a mental age of about 12. But after giving some thought, I don't really think I've ever felt my age. For one thing, I've never minded getting older, seeing that number get higher and higher. I love my birthdays as usually it's a pretty fun time for me. But I have no idea how to associate the person that I am with the number 32, or more importantly why I even should.

I think a good question to ask is what are things we use as indicators of age? Certainly maturity and body condition are probably the biggest two. Beyond that, I'm sure some people out there would say financial status although I disagree. No, I think that's it: maturity and body condition.

#1) Maturity. This is simple. I know people over 60 that are less mature than other people I know that are still in high school. For the most part, with age comes maturity. But there are so many exceptions to the rule that I cannot allow myself to correlate my maturity level with a number such as the number of years I have been alive.

#2) Phsical Condition. Again, this is so subjective that I can't be bothered trying to plot my physical condition on an age chart. I know a lot of people my age that are in better shape than me, and a lot that are in worse shape. Am I in better shape than 95% of 80-year olds? Sure. OK, so I feel great telling you I feel less than 80.

So how then can I possibly tell you how old I feel and have it actually mean anything? And what possibly could be my point in all of this? You're in luck because I'm going to tell you starting next sentence. With respect to most things in life, your age means about as much as a bowling alley with no pins. What does matter is how you live and how you approach life. Are you mature? If not, how come? If you think you are, what are the traits in yourself that lead you to be mature? And regarding physical condition, do you take care of your body? Do you completely neglect it? Diet and exercise.....sounds so simple but it takes more discipline than I personally have given it.

Perhaps one reason that I've never minded my birthday rolling around, even when I turned 30, is that separation I feel between age and self. It's a lot easier to celebrate turning 30, 40, 50 when there is a disconnect in one's mind between the number and the person. I don't necessarily subscribe to this thinking, but just for the sake of throwing it out there, perhaps the less we feel tied to our ages the more gracefully we seem to age. For example, someone who is 50 no doubt feels some sort of signs of aging. Now say their memory was altered and they were suddenly led to believe they were 40, or even 30. Would they change in any way? There is one way I could see this making a difference in someone's life. I think people probably tend to accept certain trends about age and therefore accept those things in themselves, even if they don't like them. For instance many 50-year olds have developed a bit of a gut or spare tire, and a person who is 50 may come to accept theirs as common and simply part of being 50 while if they believed they were 30 maybe they'd reject this and do something about having a few too many pounds.

It always strikes me in a funny way when people don't like revealing their ages. I'd understand if their deal was that people have certain assumptions about different ages. But most often I think the person is embarassed because they are the ones with those assumptions about age.

Ultimately, I will always have my age around. Perhaps as I approach middle age (whatever that is??) and beyond, maybe the number will affect me more, but I certainly don't plan on it. For now I simply could care less what my age is or anyone else's for that matter. It's merely a man-made concept. But at least it's useful for knowing that a 21-year is completely responsible with alcohol and a 20-year old can't be trusted within 10 miles of a pint of beer or glass of wine.