The Age Flip-Flop

For some reason, it occurred to me early on that the older I get the faster I rush headlong into being "comparatively older." That is to say, as each year goes by my comparisons for age distance themselves from me by two years. Of course, I need to not sound like Wooderson when talking about this ("that's what I love about high school girls, man – I keep gettin' older and they stay the saaaaaame aaaaage").

Let's take a look at the more-awesome-by-the-minute Boston Bruins on their championship run. I've loved the Bs since I was a kid, when they were all old guys. In this year's playoff roster, I'm older than everyone but PJ Axelsson, Manny Fernandez, Shane Hnidy, Mark Recchi (well, duh), Tim Thomas, Aaron Ward, and Stephane Yelle. That's 28% of the roster. More than I'd thought, actually. Milan Lucic, the baby of the team, is 11 years younger than me.

I'm not saying I'm old, either – I'm a ripe 32. That's the crazy thing, too. And it's not just sports heroes. I realized that eventually instead of seeing that Bea Arthur died (bless her soul, of course), I'm eventually going to see people like Trent Reznor and Kim Deal pass on. David Bowie and Stevie Nicks. I'm going to see the rest of Skinny Puppy leave this place.

I don't mean to focus on death. God knows we've had enough of that around here lately. It's not just that, anyway. As I get used to seeing my doctor every year (instead of just when I was sick every three years in my 20s), I realize that he's going to retire before I'm done seeing a doctor. Come on, he's awesome. I don't want to have to find another one.

Point being that I'm rapidly approaching the age where I'm older than my sports heroes, my favorite musicians, my doctor, my dentist, etc. Of course, this is going to sound ridiculous to anyone older than me. But hey, we all learn some time. It's just going to take some getting used to.

np: Tegan and Sara - Where Does The Good Go?