We're old
This is the theme of our life these days. I realize that we are only 26 and that is by no stretch of the imagination "old," but we have crossed some seemingly invisible line and there's nothing we can do to stop it. I remember having coffee with a friend of mine earlier in the year (who is also 26) who said to me, "Did you turn 26 and suddenly feel like you had never been more aware of your age?!?" YES! Our 27th birthday is just a few months away and then we are officially in the late 20s... sigh. There are certainly worse things, I know, but it's the little things that make you suddenly realize that, whether you like it or not, you're getting older. And [hopefully] wiser. Here are a few of those little things that have crept up on us these days...
We got new neighbors. Let me clarify--we got new FRESHMEN neighbors. As in, I-think-I-need-to-exercise-my-new-found-freedom-by-being-exceptionally-loud new freshmen neighbors. Because we are not around undergraduate students enough already. Awesome. I knew it was bad when my husband, who is usually my far more even-keeled and laid back counterpart, was perturbed at the late hour said noise was occurring. We complained. Because we're old. And now they're quieter. (yay!)
We get really, really excited about grocery store savings. When I was in high school, my mom joined this online thing called 'the grocery game,' where a dutiful wife and mother somewhere in the San Diego County area researched every grocery store ad and compiled a list of everything that was on sale at which store, who was accepting double coupons, etc. You could access this extensive list for a small monthly fee, and my mom would come home with her receipts and excitedly show us how much money she saved. As a teenager, it's obvious that I did not understand this joy, but as a wife on a tight budget?!? Heck yes! (Our grocery store of choice, by the way, is Safeway and their Just4U program.)
I wear ugly shoes. And by that I mean, I wear ugly, practical shoes. Part of that is a culturally-appropriate Oregon thing. Part of that is because I'm old. I want my feet to be dry, I want my feet to be warm, and I want to not slip in the sludge that is fallen leaves + rain + mud. So I wear ugly (wonderful) shoes.
Increasingly, our conversations center around home ownership and babies. Mostly home ownership, but sometimes babies. We went through a phase where we would take really long walks around Corvallis and pick-up real estate brochures along the way just to dream. And now that we have annoying neighbors we talk about it all. the. time. We seriously have home buyer fever in the worst way. The baby thing doesn't come up quite as often, but it's certainly present in our minds. A couple of weeks ago, we were watching TV and a diaper commercial came on. My husband looks at me and says, "Babe... I want to have a baby." And then, "What is happening?!? How do I turn that off??" It's not that my husband doesn't want kids, he does (just not right this second), and I understood what he was saying--how is it possible that the next step in our life is creating and nurturing little humans?? What? Weren't we just 18 like 5 minutes ago?
The crazier thing might be that we are excited for all of these new things, even if it does mean that we're getting old. (But just so we are all clear, there is ZERO baby discussion taking place in this house until I have that degree in hand in June!)
We got new neighbors. Let me clarify--we got new FRESHMEN neighbors. As in, I-think-I-need-to-exercise-my-new-found-freedom-by-being-exceptionally-loud new freshmen neighbors. Because we are not around undergraduate students enough already. Awesome. I knew it was bad when my husband, who is usually my far more even-keeled and laid back counterpart, was perturbed at the late hour said noise was occurring. We complained. Because we're old. And now they're quieter. (yay!)
We get really, really excited about grocery store savings. When I was in high school, my mom joined this online thing called 'the grocery game,' where a dutiful wife and mother somewhere in the San Diego County area researched every grocery store ad and compiled a list of everything that was on sale at which store, who was accepting double coupons, etc. You could access this extensive list for a small monthly fee, and my mom would come home with her receipts and excitedly show us how much money she saved. As a teenager, it's obvious that I did not understand this joy, but as a wife on a tight budget?!? Heck yes! (Our grocery store of choice, by the way, is Safeway and their Just4U program.)
I wear ugly shoes. And by that I mean, I wear ugly, practical shoes. Part of that is a culturally-appropriate Oregon thing. Part of that is because I'm old. I want my feet to be dry, I want my feet to be warm, and I want to not slip in the sludge that is fallen leaves + rain + mud. So I wear ugly (wonderful) shoes.
Increasingly, our conversations center around home ownership and babies. Mostly home ownership, but sometimes babies. We went through a phase where we would take really long walks around Corvallis and pick-up real estate brochures along the way just to dream. And now that we have annoying neighbors we talk about it all. the. time. We seriously have home buyer fever in the worst way. The baby thing doesn't come up quite as often, but it's certainly present in our minds. A couple of weeks ago, we were watching TV and a diaper commercial came on. My husband looks at me and says, "Babe... I want to have a baby." And then, "What is happening?!? How do I turn that off??" It's not that my husband doesn't want kids, he does (just not right this second), and I understood what he was saying--how is it possible that the next step in our life is creating and nurturing little humans?? What? Weren't we just 18 like 5 minutes ago?
The crazier thing might be that we are excited for all of these new things, even if it does mean that we're getting old. (But just so we are all clear, there is ZERO baby discussion taking place in this house until I have that degree in hand in June!)
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