Query: Do you look your age? Older? Younger?
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Now, is this a good thing or a bad thing? Age, and to be honest, birthdays, have been on my mind. I know quite a few June babies, and some Duckies’ special days are in June as well. Right now, I’m looking forward to aging for various reasons.A while back, I noticed a lot of posts about age, aging and the like on the blogosphere. Most people, it seemed, love the age they are, and you couldn’t pay them enough to go back. Of course, there also were a few who would jump at the chance to turn back time and have a “do over.” |
Appearances, however, are different. The members of my family all look younger than they are. Many people think my mother is 20 years younger than she is. My older sister, (she has her masters and has been working for a few years) has had cashiers, and managers refuse to sell her alcohol when she whipped out her passport. How you could fake one, I’d like to know.
| So- do people normally think you’re older, younger, or are they “just right?” I know there are some families, where the parents are mistaken as the children’s siblings. [The kids *love* that one.] Or siblings who are mistaken for a couple when they have dinner or go to a bar. That one seriously squicks out the siblings. Have you noticed changes in the way people treat you or interact with you or treat you as you get older?Has anyone called you “that nice old lady” or “grandma” or anything similar affectionately, but mistakenly? Or does it go the opposite way, where people still call you “honey” and “dear” and “sweetie” – and it’s relatively ok? (Because they honestly think you’re 12.) Do you like that? Hate that? Miss it? |  |
Bringing this to books – does age matter? Do you notice age differences? An author I really like writes heroes and heroines vastly disparate in age. A lot of readers remark on the subject, and hate it. Of course anything illegal is frowned upon (and wrong!)- but what do you think of the May-December romances? Or aging? Do you have a milestone birthday coming up? (Or anyone you know – friend, family or foe?)
Do you look forward to aging? One of my friends decided she’s going to carry a cane when she’s 80, and be sassy. Her reasoning, after all, is old people can get away with anything. Who’s going to believe or arrest an 80 year old lady who trips people with her cane?
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Are you someone who rents the 40 bright pink flamingos for the yard? Or are birthdays more sedate? Speaking of – does anyone have a favorite birthday scene – in general or from a book? My muddled brain is trying to come up with a good one – and you know, I can’t think of any great birthday scenes. Is this something authors avoid, or have I just been reading the “wrong” books?Do you have a favorite birthday memory, or do something for birthdays? Some of my college friends… are crazy. It’s more like hazing. But, memorable. |  |
I get honeyed, sweetied and honned a lot, but I live in the South, so anyone female and a good portion of the males get it, too. The birthdays I’ve written and read are MUCH more interesting than the birthdays this family has in real life. Though when I turned 16, the family did sort of forget, but they had good reason.
Jody – good call on the location and “culture” – I wonder if professional field matters too. (That might be why it’s more “surprising” for me.) As for your turning 16 being (mostly) forgotten – TRAGIC! That’s too bad. 🙁 Actually, my 16th was pretty disappointing too. Did they make up for it? And hopefully everything else was ok otherwise…
And then there’s the “My Super Sweet Sixteen” which is fascinating, and horrifying.
I just had my 50th beginning of June. I love the idea of aging gracefully. Although, there are times when I wish I could still eat what I want and drink and smoke like I could when I was younger with no ill effects, but it’s not that big a deal.
I always looked younger than I am, however, I think now it’s all catching up.
I get the yes/no ma’ams etc. a lot. However, I’ve been called young lady by the more senior crowd, quite often. So, it’s all relative. LOL
In books I prefer not that big of an age difference and if there is, I tend to make the characters younger or older to fit my fantasy. IRL, I’ve been in quite a few May-Dec. relationships, me being both the younger and the older person, so I’ve been there done that. I don’t want to read it.
MB(Leah) -happy belated birthday! 50 is a great milestone 😀 – I don’t think I’ve ever had a metabolism, so haha, that’s one thing I won’t have to worry about.
🙁 I don’t get ma’am. I’ve had like high school shop girls ask me “Do you need any help, sweetie?” …
Makes sense for the books/relationships. Luckily, most books don’t have that 😛
I have the same experience as Joy on honey/sweetie/dear. It’s just normal. I often drop endearments at the end of sentences.
I look younger than my age. As I don’t have very many years to lose, this annoys me sometimes. I’m just glad I now have enough curves I can’t pass for prepubescent. My sister, on the other hand, looks older than her age and has since she was a little kid. A waiter once made her cry when she was nine because he refused to believe she was young enough to order from the kids’ (12 and under) menu. My dad had a picture taken of her in sixth grade on his desk and multiple coworkers asked if she was his wife. There are pictures of us standing together in elementary where I look like her doll. (Okay, I’m also glad I’m no longer short and underweight.)
I notice age differences unless the age is only mentioned once. I also noticed the kids. I spend a lot of time baby-sitting and such, and a number of authors seem to have never spent any time caring for kids.
An old friend and I promised to live in the home together, even after we have no clue who the other is.
My next b-day is twenty, which is just freaky. Seriously, I’m nearly TWO DECADES old. I know I seem young to most people, but from my point of view I’m approaching the age of dirt way too fast.
For my mom’s sixteenth birthday, her sister announced that she (the sister) was pregnant. My sixteenth got overshadowed by my sister’s crap, but at least it wasn’t that bad.
Liv – hm, you guys are taking this… either in a different direction, or pockets of culture are just that different. Speaking to friends I think is different from dropping “endearments” in general – e.g. what I was thinking was – would you call a stranger at the justice center “hon”? And so on. Or a professor? Lawyer or doctor? I can see it happening much more at certain stores, coffee shops, etc.
Heh – my sister looks a lot younger than her age. People think she’s 10 years younger. Love it. She’ll kill you if you joke with bartenders/bouncers carding her. She’s had cashiers and managers refuse to sell her alcohol when she had her passport. [And this past December almost got carded for a movie, and it was PG-14.] Hehehehehe. People thought my mom is about 20 years younger than she is. For the sister wife thing… creepy.
Kids ages in books I notice if they totally don’t act like real life kids that age. I think many authors a) have trouble writing kids, or b) know weird as hell little kids.
Yay milestones. The Olympics were happening right around my 20th and I had a “quarter life crisis” and hated on the amazing kids younger than me ;). As a plug, watch the diving Olympic tryouts! First, it’s cool, and second, one of my friends is competing! As for the 16th… dayam. Mine was mostly forgotten but I was out of the country and it was complicated. If my sister announced she was pregnant… I wouldn’t have a sister anymore, but more importantly I’d be so shocked that wouldn’t even be an issue.
I’ll be 40 next year and I can’t TELL you how much I’m looking forward to it. My 20’s were about having babies and my 30’s have been about getting on my feet. And for my 39th birthday I want a new tattoo!!!
I totally don’t look my age (despite all the grey hair)
LOL Amie – I like how you can label periods of your life – 40 is the new… 30? 20? Now? 😛 As for the tattoo – neat do you know what you’ll get?
I think I look my age – 36/mid-30’s which I’m just fine with. But my older sister obsesses (spelling?) about her skincare and I don’t and maybe that’s why family acquaintances sometimes comment in “shock” that I’m the younger sister. That probably makes my sis feel good and I’ll admit that it makes me feel a little sad. And whether that’s a tactful/nice thing for someone to say is for another rant 🙂 I do feel a little weird when people in their 20’s/30’s address me as ma’am…. do I look that way much older? And I don’t think too much about getting older really…. my husband and I have talked about it and we still feel pretty “young” and are enjoying life for the moment. This reflects my reading… I pay more attention to what the characters are doing (in common with what I know/my interests, something new) than how old they are. Make sense? Fun post ms limecello:)
Hi Allison – thanks for adding your two cents, and I’m glad you enjoyed it! As for your sister… meh. People always think I’m the “older sister,” but I don’t feel too bad considering people ask my sister “so how do you find high school?” And when she gives them a horrified look, they ask “oh – how’s middle school?” – it’s important to know that, she has her BS, MS, and has been working for a few years. Once, I think she was right about to go to grad school, she was home for a summer- and the parents got satellite service – the guy who came to install it almost wouldn’t let her sign off on it (she had to be 18).
I had a friend who was already obsessed with anti-wrinkle cream in college- so she was at most 21-22. Geez. 🙂 I think age is mostly relative. Of course, there is a time when people should act their age. (Or when you start getting discounts!) My parents sometimes say how “back in the day” people their age were “old fogeys” – but they still feel young. And – yes, that does make sense. Interests and hobbies, characteristics oftentimes make a character more relatable than age. Of course, sometimes characters being a certain age is distracting. I admit that reading about heroines [in “regular” romances] who are 19 squicks me out a bit.
I’ve never been to the justice center. And really, it depends on how well I know the person and such. No, I wouldn’t call a doctor “hon” and I wouldn’t expect the doctor to call me “hon” either because we would be in a professional setting. On the other hand, I was good friends with a teacher at my HS but she never taught me. I called her Princess Monica and she called me Princess Liv – during school hours, in front of her classes. It was appropriate for our relationship.
The endearments do depend on age. I tend to use them more with my peers. I’ll use sir/ma’am with an unfamiliar adult and usually a first name with a more familiar one. Actually, what I call friends’ parents compared to what other friends call them doesn’t usually match up. I moved into a small community when I was already in my teens, so I use first names for their parents while older friends still use “Mr./Mrs. ____.” Younger kids I call by an abbreviated form of their name.
Endearments also depend on a person’s personal preference and what area they’re from. My ex-roomie calls me “babe” exclusively. Another friend calls me “dearie,” “hon,” and “honey bunches of oats.” Sometimes the endearment is used in a sentence, such as, “Be a dear and get me ____,” which is used with someone in a position of less power. (It means, “Get it now or I kick you in the face.” At least, it did in drumline.)
It doesn’t really happen in stores. I have been hit on by clerks, which I find odd. And embarrassing, since it never happens when I’m alone. No, boys only hit on me in front of my mother.
My mom looks pretty young for her age. She’s almost 47 but most people think she’s in her thirties.
At least people believe me after I get carded. (I’ve been carded at concerts and an adult artist competition.)
That’s cool! I haven’t known anyone trying out for the Olympics in ages.
Liv – Haha, that’s why I brought it up. Apparently my experiences are rather singular. I get called “honey” “sweetie” “dear” and the like going to and from the court house, the county recorder’s office, industrial commission, etc. I figure it’s because people think I’m 12. Maybe they always think it’s take your daughter to work day 😛 For the teacher thing – cute. How big was your high school? There was one teacher I called Frank – long story. We nicknamed teachers :X There was the drunkard, the toad, dirtball, linebacker, Bobby P, dumb vibes, the vampire, Mr. Rogers, Goody Colligan…and more. The drunkard was one of everyone’s favorite teachers, actually. Impressive considering he taught Calc AP and Stats AP.
I don’t call my friend’s parents by their first names. Weirds me out. Mostly it’s conditioning and culture, I’d say. One of my friends used to refer to friends’ parents as the friend’s name (confused yet?) so it’d be “Mrs. Shari,” “Mrs. Nathan,” etc.
Oh carding. I wonder how I’ll feel if/when I stop getting carded 😀
For the Olympics – I’m excited! One of my friends is for sure going, and the other, we’ll find out!
Erm, my class was somewhat under 400 people, not sure how much. 340 at least. No clue how big the total thing was – it’s a 4A school. Mr. Danforth was the band director in charge of percussion . . . most of the band called him his name, but the lower classmen percussionists called him Mr. D and the uppers D. (Or, if we were mad, D for dumb.) I can’t think of any other teacher nicknames.
I loved Cal BC. That was a crazy class.
For me, it’s complicated, but it just ended up that way. However, I don’t call my professors by first name. For teachers I usually use last name no title.
Congrats to your friend! What event?
Sometime back I mentally disposed of the calendar, the scale, and the mirror. It makes life so much easier . . .
Hi EC, I like that policy 🙂 Although, sometimes it’s nice to keep track of certain milestones/ages for kicks – or in certain countries, there’s free health care once you’re X age.
I turned 39 in April and I’m definitely with Amie. My life has been sectioned out. From 15-25 I was horribly rebellious. From 25 to 35 I tried the other end and was “horribly” obedient. That decade was all about babies and toddlers, too. This one seems to be about finding me. Not fighting or worrying about what others expect.
In books? I love the May-December romance when it’s done right. The H/H can ignore the age difference or they can be worried about it, either can be done well.
I’ve never worried about looking older or teens thinking I’m old… but I’m starting to feel “not so young” physically and that’s kind of scary.
Oh, I just got slapped in the face with my age this past week by my children. They were talking about the tests they take on teh computer for reading and I was telling them how we didn’t have computers when I was in elementary school…WAY back in the 1980’s! They started cracking up and I said, yeah, I rode my dinosaur to school and parked him out front! (Somehow, I remember having similar conversations with my mother regarding microwaves) I was just telling my friend yesterday that I can remember going to the library and actually having to pull out the card catalog…gasp!
😉
Haha – I can’t believe I’m responding so late… (of course b/c I should be studying…) Sharmi – I remember card catalogs too, and I did have computers in elementary school!
Heh. Age – I wonder if I’ll be slapped with that soon…
Another thing – I’m… a tiny bit surprised nobody mentioned or asked about the picture on the bottom left.
RE: Bottom left photo
They’re kidnapping him to take him to his birthday party, no?
Something like that 😛 the duct tape isn’t very visible (arms, legs, hands, mouth) – I think they’re about to whip cream and cake him. So he’ll have a few hours to clean up before the nice birthday dinner.