Passing Youth

Birthdays may celebrate all the years that have made your life beautiful, but it also indicates that you've grown a year older. Another year signifies that our carefree, idealized youth has passed and we unwillingly have to settle into responsible adulthood. As if trying to cram 20-something candles on a cake wasn't bad enough, there are many other signs out there that prove you're getting old. 

"Age is a question of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter." Satchel Paige 

You Know You're Getting Old When...

• The songs you listened to when you were young are now referred to as 'Classics' on the radio. When did Genie in a Bottle and Britney's One More Time become 'Classics'?
• All your friends have kids old enough to call you Aunt or Uncle. After all, they were taught to speak to their elders with respect.
• Chatting to the above-mentioned kids, you begin all sentences with, "When I was your age..."
• You've not only had to invest in an anti-wrinkle cream, but the entire anti-wrinkle, collagen boosting, skin-tightening, cell renewing, line eliminating product range.
• You have to ask a 13 year old to interpret abbreviations & slang used in emails, IM's and sms's you've received.
• You have no idea who Willow Smith, Justin Bieber, Taylor Momsen or Selena Gomez are. You've heard their names before and just assume that they are part of that Twilight movie or The Jonas Brothers.
• You avoid going to places where the music's too loud and the crowd's too rowdy. In fact, you're appalled by the behaviour of 'Today's Youth', forgetting that 10 years ago, someone was appalled by your behaviour.
• You don't use the newspaper as a floor-mat anymore, you actually read it.
• You don't stay out later than 9pm on a Sunday, any later and you won't be able to wake up early for work the next morning.
• You don't need to show your ID anymore to prove you're over 18. However, you need it to prove that you're still under 35. Ouch.