There are two times in the year that I am forced to reconcile with my own shortcomings and/or revel in my accomplishments. The first is my birthday. It falls in July so it’s a good middle-of-the-year human performance assessment. The second is the New Year. Right now.
When I woke up yesterday and realized December is about to punch us all in the face with its jolly, blustery fist, I realized I have one month to right whatever is still wrong from last year’s complaints. I believe I’ve taken care of everything on the list except “get a passport”, which is crucial to next year’s inevitable goal: “go somewhere”. In general, it’s a good system for helping me reflect on both my goals and my mistakes so that when I get hit by a truck one day, I have a minimal amount of reflection to do before my soul leaves my body.
It’s just good sense to plan ahead.
Of course, on occasion these little sessions don’t go as hoped and instead of reflecting on improvements for the oncoming year, I focus on how incredibly old I am.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know; statistically speaking, it’s likely that you’re older than me. I mean I’m old for myself but I’m not old if we consider actual old people. But even if you’re older than me, you have to admit that there is something that happens to you in your 20’s in which you transition from being young and fun and not responsible for anything to being not young, no fun, and so much responsibility that you wonder if you could just get hospitalized for a little bit to help get you out of a few things.
Except student loans. No one can stop the student loans.
So the other day I was all wrapped up in my old-ness partially because I’m in reflection mode with January approaching and partly because Dave pointed out that the people playing moms in the Kraft macaroni and cheese commercials are our age now. And he’s right: they are.
That’s a painful realization, my friends.
And that’s the humiliation of growing up I suppose – how it creeps up on you. The way that it just slowly invades all your sacred space until one day you wake up and you’re upset that so many young kids are moving in and making a ruckus in your apartment complex or that you actually really like Raisin Bran or that you can’t go join a hippie commune any time you want now because you have bills, man.
Perhaps I should add “come to terms with own age” to my list of to-dos for 2013. Hey, at least if I fail I can hop a flight to another country and ignore everything with my newly acquired passport.
How about you all? How are your resolutions and reflections faring with only one month to go?
Feel free to tell me that you also enjoy Raisin Bran. It would help me, you know, deal. ♣
The Jackie Blog 