A couple weeks ago, I have having my hair done, and my wonderful hair dresser and I were discussing how my hair was changing as I got older: I’ve inherited Ma‘s matted dog curl, which adds irregular waves, primarily in back, and I have a pieces of what I affectionately refer to as “tinsel”, which are “silver” and stick out in crazy angles. I can say that I only have a few of these anarchist pieces: The only ones that count are the ones that I can see!
Around the same time as that haircut, I started 30 Day Shred.
I figured I needed to jump start getting back into shape since injury forced me to give up the gym. I made it through day six, and I bragged to my friend Amy about how strong I was feeling. The next morning I woke up with a raging case of tendinitis in both elbows.
My first thought was, “I’m not 20 any more.” Saying that out loud made me realize that once again my perception of the past isn’t quite accurate.
When I was in my 20s, I was a couch potato. My exercise was walking to the fridge. At one point I noticed that when I went to the library, I didn’t want to look at the books on the bottom shelf. Gradually, it was more and more painful to bend my knees at all. The doctor diagnosed me with patella tendinitis in both knees … and I hadn’t been active at all!
In thinking about it, I feel better that at least this time the pain was caused by tons of exercise. Wow, “they” were right about taking days off in between strength training sessions to prevent injury. Someone should tell Jillian Michaels!
What makes you appreciate your life more now than when you were in your 20s? or Are there any more creative terms out there for “tinsel”?
Grown Up, Now What? 
I appreciate that I have learned a lot about myself and other people. I realize just how little I knew at 20. But your story of your wrong perception of your youth was interesting. People do that a lot I notice, blame memory loss and aches and pains on age when actually it’s simply lifestyle. My mother for example likes to claim phone deafness from age and then answers phones with the volume of the TV at 10. She’s usually miraculously cured when the volume is simply switched down.
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It seems like the older I get, the less I knew at 20! I’ve started calling it “stupid young.”
Thanks for sharing the story about your mom. It is amazing how we can all hear the phone much better if the tv isn’t blaring in the background. I think any parent of teenagers could attest to that!
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I realize and remember I’m not 20 anymore, or even 30 anymore, every time i am in a class at the gym. I take a weight lifting class (60 minutes) and a step aerobic class (60 minutes) and a spin class (60 minutes). I figure I’m doing good to keep at it for an hour. They’re fun because of the music and good instructors….well, I’m not sure “fun” is the right word – but they’re do-able. Anyway – there ARE a lot of 20 and 30 year olds in the classes and I just do the best I can – no longer feeling the need to compete with them.
Love your tinsel moniker – may as well make the rogue hairs sparkly and holiday-ish!
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I was at a class last night. There were two of us in our 40s, a woman in her 30s, and then a 20 year old. The young one and I were newbies, and we both seemed to barely be hanging on. That made me feel better, that it is hard even for those young things!
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Yep, we only made it to day six, too! 😉
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I feel so much better now that it’s not just me!
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I wasn’t all that active in my early 20s either. In fact, I played a lot of video games. That was as active as I got. I’ve actually made a big change since I’m more active now than at any time before.
One thing that makes me realize I’m not in my 20s anymore is drinking alcohol. I don’t know how I was able to drink so much and get up the next morning feeling ok. Now that I’m in my 30s I can’t drink much at all. One glass of wine is enough to make my head cloudy the next morning. I think it could be because I rarely drink nowadays, but still I feel as if I could handle it more back then.
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I never was a big drinker, but I have heard a lot of friends the morning after cursing their no longer 20-year-old liver!
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