Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Age is Just a. . . What?

The winner of last week's contest, the $10 iTunes gift card, is Melissa! Send me an e-mail to jill(at)jilliancantor.com with your address and I'll get it right out to you. The contest for this week and next week are listed on the right sidebar>>> Just send me an e-mail or leave a comment here if you want to enter.

I hope you all had a nice long weekend. I did! Something happened to me on Saturday that has been happening to me quite frequently lately. First, I finally finished this massive revision I've been working on for a while, so Saturday night I went off to the grocery store to pick up some celebratory wine and crab legs for me and my husband. (Remember, my new positive mantra is to celebrate even the little things!). Anyway, while I was paying, I got carded buying the bottle of wine. Even though I'm in my early thirties, this still happens to me a lot, especially if I'm shopping alone without the kids. Usually, it's not a big deal -- I laugh and hand over my ID, and maybe the cashier will say something about how they card until age 30 and I looked under 30 and I'll say thank you. And that's that.

But. On Saturday, this cashier asked me to see my ID. I handed it to her, and she literally gasped. "No!" She exclaimed. "This can't be right." She turned it over, held it up next to the light, squinted. "You can't possibly be this OLD."

I felt a little uncomfortable standing there as the guy behind me started sizing me up, perhaps wondering how old I really was or what the hold-up with the line was. I'm not sure. I just nodded politely and told her that yes, I am this old.

"No!" she exclaimed again. "You are way too normal looking and cute to be *this* old."

"Is that a compliment?" I asked.

"Totally," she said. "That's totally a compliment."
So, I did the only think I could think to do, I thanked her, wrangled back my ID and paid.

But as I drove home, I wondered was it really compliment? Wasn't what she was really saying was that she expected people "my age" to look weird, abnormal, or not cute, that somehow despite my "advanced age," I'd been able to avoid these things? Phew! And then I decided that I really didn't care. I like my age. I'd actually much rather be in my thirties than be a teenager when life still felt so uncertain and messy.

How do you feel about your age? Do people mistake you for either older or younger than you are? And am I the only one in my thirties who still gets carded???

3 comments:

  1. I'm in my early to mid-30's and I haven't been carded in a while. I think I'm starting to look my age. I'm finding gray hairs too. LOL! I love being in my 30's though. It's so comfortable and laid back compared to my 20's, which were more angsty and crazy.

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  2. I am trying to be positive about my age but its not that simple. lol. I'm one of those that fear getting old, I'm only 23 but am determined to find either a vampire or the fountain of youth before I hit the big 2-5, lol. I'm serious. But I do get asked my age a lot and when I tell whoever's asking at that time their eyes bug out. Some people still think I'm 16.... which I guess is awesome since I don't look like the crypt keeper, just not that guys my age, or older,... or even the teenyboppers, think I'm jailbait. lol.

    Oh, and I have a few gray hairs, there's no l-o-ling on this end. Its too soon!!!!! Gah! *flops back onto bed*

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  3. Melissa, I hardly ever get carded when I'm with my kids, but somehow when I'm alone people still think I'm 16. I like being in my 30s better than my 20s, too, so Jessica, this should make you feel better ;)

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