forever young

Yesterday I posted a little something I found on Youtube that I couldn't resist called Middle Aged Women Behaving Badly. Just a collection of moments captured on video of women of a certain age and beyond, simply engaging in behavior that while might not necessarily have been bad, was ultimately more than they could handle. It was funny because of course they thought they COULD handle it, most likely because maybe they once could and did handle it. And then time marches on and an occasion arise to participate in something that you suddenly remember was super fun once upon a time, and before you have time to think about it, you're jumping on that trampoline, or swinging on that rope swing...and then disaster of course strikes, because let's face it, you're 44 years old, not 14, and oh yeah, the old bod isn't quite what it used to be. Even when you're a fit 44. Because whether we want to accept it or not, 44 really isn't 14, or 24, or even 34, damn it. Sometimes it's a sneaky betrayal, like the way your knee insists on hurting every time you go for a walk (you can ignore this level of betrayal for years), and sometimes it's right in your face totally unavoidable, like breaking your toe trying to re-enact an episode of dancing with the stars, or throwing your back out doing downward facing dog. I mean, I think these are reasonable things that I should be able to handle doing, and for the most part I can, but now and then my body decides otherwise and says "NO! NOT TODAY!" very clearly. And then I just feel bewildered and somewhat (or very) pathetic. Time is a weird thing. Today I had coffee with an old friend of mine. My first friend in fact when I moved back to Canada with my family at the age of 14. We have only seen each other a few times in the past 25 years since high school, but are both back in the same city once again, and so have gotten back into touch. And it's so weird really, because I can sit and talk with him and honestly, I just don't feel a day over 18. It's like no time has past at all, when of course lots has, so much that we have trouble figuring out just exactly where each other was during which year etc. So while my body continues to march to the beat of time's drum, my head and my heart apparently don't. Figuratively speaking of course. I remember asking my mother when she turned 50 if she felt different and she told me she felt just the same as she did when she was 18. I thought that was pretty interesting and amazing, and now of course, I am going through the same experience myself. I came away from my coffee chat feeling quite energized, quite bubbly, quite young in fact. So maybe that's the secret to staying young - spend some time with someone who knew you when you really were young, because that's how you still seem to each other. It sure worked for me today - plus it was a whole lot safer than death defying dance moves or trampolines!