25-29

Over the summer I turned 25 - not really a big deal, but I think it finally hit me that I am not a little kid anymore. I can't remember what paperwork I was filling out, but this weekend I was looking at a form and when I went to place a check mark in the age group boxes, it was the first time I couldn't check the 18-24 box. I moved up into the 25-29 category, and that was a little eye-opening.

Chris and I have retirement accounts. We have insurance payments (multiple kinds!). We have to buy groceries, pay our utilities, rent, and cell phone bills every month. We have loans and credit cards and responsibilities. We've had all this stuff for a few years now, but it is finally hitting me now. We. are. adults.

Yesterday at the hospital I was talking to a lady in her early 80s. A medical student came over while we were chatting and asked if he could survey her. When he finished, he thanked her, stood up, and patted her knee. As soon as he left, she told me she knew how old she was, but she was still young at heart and didn't feel 80 when "that young man" was talking to her.

I realize it's a different context, but I feel like a lot of people I talk to don't really feel as though they are as old as their number age. We all have many more years of experience being younger ages than we have at the age we currently are. I know birthdays are inevitable, but I just hope when I'm in my 80s I can still say I'm young at heart!