So there I was, sitting with Ella sharing a pint of beer.
D: sooooo, this is a neat place isn’t it?
E: yeah, cool we found it
D: uh huh
E: don’t you have a birthday coming up sometime soon?
D: uhhhhh (thinking, she’s right. She’s about to ask me how old I’m going to be. How old am I going to be? What year is it anyways?) Yeah, on the 18th. I like carrot cake (trying to change the subject)
E: yeah, I like carrots (zero hesitation) so how old are you going to be again?
D: uhhhh (pause… thinking… oh com’on, I know how old I am… now wait a sec… was I just 28, or was I waiting to be 28?) uhhhh
E: heh heh (he still looks bewildered and lost in thought) wait. Are you serious? You don’t remember how old you are?
D: (damn! She called me on it already. Damn that was fast. Now how old was I? 27, 28, 29, 27, 28, 29, 27, 28, 29) Well… I seem to remember being 28, or was it that I was waiting to be 28? (at this point I’ve lost all inner monologue) I can’t be 30 can I? I mean, I’d remember 29 wouldn’t I?!
E: you are serious! You don’t remember how old you are?!
D: (hell, there’s no point in trying to remember now) Hold on a sec (I grab my bag for a pen, and the receipt) Okay, I was born in 1978, and right now it’s …
E: 2007, oh my god!
D: right right, so 2007 minus 19..
E: I can’t believe you’re doing this
D: ah ah ah – …minus 1978 is…. 29. Now does that mean I’m going on 29, or that I’ve now reached 29? (why is she hiding her face from everyone in here? Is it because I look so old?!)
E: hahah
So here it is October 17, 2007 and I’m about to turn 29 years old. I’ve never really freaked out like this before about birthdays. I think my episode a few weeks ago in the pub was probably the extent of it. I keep complaining to people around me about being old, but I don’t feel shocked at it anymore. It does have me thinking about lots of things though. I mean, I remember when stuff like: annual income, and the possibility of a family didn’t cross my mind. It wasn’t long ago when all I could think about was tomorrow, or maybe next week. Right now, I find myself anticipating for the next four years. I’m thinking about big questions that I don’t remember ever thinking about before. Something about my 28th birthday didn’t seem like a big deal. If someone asked me if I considered myself a kid or adult, I felt like an old kid. Now if you ask me I wouldn’t even think twice about answering: adult. It’s not that I have things I consider adults having like a career, wife, children, mortgage, astronomical credit card payments, or an expensive car – but I grasp all those things. “Adult” is in my head.
Something quietly switched over while I was 28 and I didn’t realize it until just now. I’m sure 29 isn’t a universal age, but for me it’s the magic number.
Do I have any advice for younger people? Yup:
Did you have a good time when you were in college? (hopefully they say yes) If you could be 18 again would you do it? For me: I had a great time in college, but I wouldn’t do it again. I am truly excited for the rest of my life. I’m not in any rush to graduate from college, get a career, house, children, wife, nice car et cetera; but I am really looking forward to those times. I can practically see myself signing the paper, opening my first big pay check, throwing my hat in the air, saying “I do”, and day dreaming about what to name my son or daughter.
There was no way I could’ve said that four weeks ago.
Do I have any questions from someone who’s already turned 29 and lived through it?
When you turned 29, did you imagine you’d be where you are right now?
Check back with me in a few days, and I’ll let you know what happens. But for right now, I’m going to enjoy the next 21 minutes of being 28 – and go to sleep.