An Interesting Observation

First off, I want to give a shout out to the Karns Lady Beavers volleyball team who beat the Farragut Lady Admirals tonight to take the Division 1, 2-A regional volleyball title. Great job, ladies! Jai-Ho!

That brings me to the reason for this post. I wore my Karns Beavers volleyball wear to school today - my royal blue t-shirt and matching sweatshirt. As I sat down in my History of Mexico class, the guy sitting behind me asked, "So, did you play volleyball at Karns?" I thought, "How old does he think I am?" I said, "No, but my daughter does." His eyes got wide. "How old is your daughter?" he asked. "Oh, she's a senior this year," I responded, smiling as I turned away. I thought he was going to fall out of his chair. I guess when you don't look like you're almost 50, people don't think you are.

That seems to be a common reaction when I tell people I have children - grown children. Their chins hit the floor. I guess I have been blessed with good genes. Thanks, Mom and Dad.

The observation is this - and it comes from a friend of mine: you are as young as you feel. There are some days when I feel very old. Those are the days when I don't feel good, have a ton of stuff to do, or realize my oldest will be 23 soon. Yikes!

One reason I enjoy being a student so much is that it keeps me young. There is a certain energy one picks up from being around younger people. I find myself saying "like" as a filler in my conversation. That's a bad habit I need to get rid of. I also find that life can be very exciting and full of promise. So what if I'm almost 50? From what I hear, 50 is the new 30. And 30 is the new . . . whatever. I appreciate a beautiful day, an umbrella without holes in it and a Grande Non-Fat Decaf Mocha Latte with a shot of raspberry.

I also appreciate it when a professor acknowledges my "profound" comment in class or the way I've crafted a point in a research paper. I appreciate it that the much younger students in my Geology class have included me in their study group. I plan to bribe/reward them with brownies the next time we get together. I appreciate it that my Environmental Geo prof from two years ago still remembers me!

I've heard it said that being young is not necessarily age, but it is the attitude of one's heart. Yup. Like, I am really starting to, like, get the hang of this full time student stuff, dude. :)

"You're as young as you feel." How do you feel today? Stay tuned . . .