How do you know you're getting old?

Tomorrow is my birthday and I will be 39.  A good friend took me to lunch today as an early celebration to mark the special day.  When I said I would be 39 he shook his head and said that he still thinks of me as a kid (yes, he’s a little older than me).  I had to smile because I still feel like a kid mostly.  Being an adult was always something for people older than me.  But now that I’m on my way to the big four-oh, I need to face facts.  I am adult now.  I have a university degree,  I am a married woman, I have birthed two children, I pay bills, cook meals and I live in a house without my parents.  So I guess I qualify.

When I was younger, my yardstick for ‘being old’ was reading the Women’s Weekly.  You were definitely an oldie if you bought the Women’s Weekly.  The Women’s Weekly and Family Circle.  Anything that came with sewing patterns in it was definitely retirement village material.  And how old was I when I was making these insightful assumptions?  Well.  I was reading ‘Dolly’.  So yeah -  I was reading about periods, and first kisses.  Ahhhh....such innocence!

Now not only do I buy The Women's Weekly, but I have subscribed to it!  I do the crossword (which makes me a nerd AND old).  In fact, that’s the only reason I get the magazine.  Oh, that and the recipes.  Because somewhere along the way between Dolly and Women’s Weekly, I have developed an interest in cooking.  So by my 14 year old self’s definition, I am old.  And yet, now that I’m here, I don’t feel old.  But I guess that’s always going to happen isn’t it?  Whatever age you may be, you’re only as old as your approach to life.  And I work everyday to ensure I stay positive, grateful and mindful.  And all of these are also signs that I'm aging.  Sigh...

And what about you?  What did you use as a yardstick to getting old?