I ask because I don't. I never have to stop and think, "Wait, am I 52? 53? 54?"
I just know I'm 53.
I notice a lot of people have to give it real thought when asked their age. It may take them a good 5-10 seconds before they can confidently offer an answer.
In their defense, if you're in the "lower-middle" and "upper-middle" parts of a particular decade, those years and birthdays do tend to run together. By that I mean, for example, when you're in the 52-54 or 56-58 age ranges.
Those particular years are, for practical purposes, all essentially the same.
But you know right away when you're a "milestone" age like 20, 30, 40, 50, etc. And you can usually remember if you've turned the "1" number (21, 31, 41, 51, etc.) in the last 12 months OR if you're in the final year before a milestone (19, 29, 39, 49, etc.)
But those other ages? Yeah, they go by so quickly they can be difficult to keep track of.
As I said, though, this is never a problem for me. I can rattle off my current age at a moment's notice even despite my wife's attempts to throw me off.
Terry is about 7 1/2 months older than me. We were born the same year, she in March and me in November. It is her policy, when she turns a certain age, that I am immediately that same age. In her mind, there is no time lag between us.
So for instance, if the calendar suggests that on March 18th (her birthday) she turns 40 years old and I remain 39, Terry sees things differently. To her, we are both instantly 40, birth certificates be damned.
I am so used to hearing this from her that I will admit an occasional fraction-of-a-second hesitation in declaring my age to anyone who asks. But it's so slight you wouldn't notice, and thus I claim no real trouble in remembering how old I am.
For now, that is. Try me again in 30 or 40 years. By that time, it will be sufficient if I know my first name and can come within a decade, plus or minus, of my age.
There comes a time in life when it's all about the little victories.
No comments:
Post a Comment