At some point in a person’s life, he or she inevitably turns into his or her parents. His music taste changes, his climate preference shifts, and of course he “settles down” and complains about how much easier the next generation has it. But, when and why does this happen? Is there an internal clock; what societal influence drives this? Something that happened recently drove me to ponder this very subject.
I was bitching about the winter being too long (ok, really about the race season taking too long to start), when a buddy of mine who just moved south said “Well, guess ya gotta move south, we done race all year long, y’hear.” That just isn’t a good idea, as I don’t have enough fund-age to support 6 months of racing, no less 12. Plus, I need six months for my kidneys to cleanse themselves of all the beef jerky that had been coursing through my body. I like having distinct seasons. I like snow, and driving in it. So, when am I going to change and turn into my dad where I need a jacket when it is 80 out?
I do not feel that I have changed as much as I should have by this age. I have reached 1/4 of my lifespan (1/2 by my own estimation), so let’s tally up some of the typical indicators, shall we?
- Gray hair - check, it is starting to come in at full force. I thought the first one was an anomaly (like a movie starring “The Rock”), but really it was a harbinger of things to come.
- Cold weather - Nope, I am still relatively resilient despite my diminutive stature. - Radio - I have started to listen more to talk radio. That would have never happened 5 years ago.
- Music taste - Still like hard rock, still despise elevator music.
- Driving - No changes here.
- Younger generation - I despise them with every fibre of my being. Worse yet, I understand why older people can’t stand my generation. My “orneriness” is not even chartable anymore.
- Tipping - I tip too well to be eligible for my AARP card.
- Bladder - The resolve of the winkie reservoir is not as great as it once was. Given how long my road trips are, this is most annoying.
- Sleep - I can still sleep in forever. I do seem to at least wake up once in the morning, but it is not at an ungodly hour.
- Metabolism - Starting to slow down, yeah. Or is it just that I am more sedentary than ever?
I don’t know if the timing of this overall change can be pinpointed in a person. One could say that it is obviously a gradual change, but I don’t know that it is. I think that life events could start things in motion all at once, but the proof does not come out all at once. Eh, gotta go, I am sure Matlock is on somewhere.
Wait. What were we talking about? -Michael
wait wait wait wait wait.
What’s this about gray hair? I did not get that memo and if it’s coming, I’m changing my address.
(though I do have to agree with the metabolism thing…)