I know I'm older when... - Flamingo's Gazette

I turned 35 recently and I got myself the latest book of Caroline de Maigret and Sophie Mas as a birthday present. It features a very suggestive title: “Older but better, but older”. I felt a bit young for this book while reading it, which is quite hilarious, because I resonate perfectly with the title, especially with the “older” part. Well, I guess there’s “older”…and there is OLDER (like over 40…). This is not a book review though. The first chapter of this book, “You know that things aren’t what they used to be, when…”, inspired me to write my own conclusions to this “fatidic” phrase.

I know I’m older, when:

I fall asleep at 9 pm, after just ten minutes of lying in bed.
the bags under my eyes don’t disappear, not even after 10 blankets of cucumbers and carrots layered on top of them.
the number of grey hairs is definitely surpassing the number of years.
I asked the other day who Billie Eilish was…
…but I know who Kate del Castillo is.
I look at photos of the first kids I taught, who are turning 17 or 18 this year.
my back hurts after two minutes of gardening.
I crossed over to another age segment in demographic statistics.
I watch movies by Woody Allen with older women as the main focus and find them fascinating.
(on that note) I find myself in total agreement with the Woody Allen quote: “The most beautiful words in English language are not ‘I love you’ but ‘it’s benign’”.
I don’t have anything in common with 20 year old girls anymore.
all of the parties I attend are either weddings or baptisms.
I don’t go outside on a sunny summer day without wearing a hat and a good layer of sunscreen.
that extra doughnut is showing on my backside.
the idea of going to thermal baths isn’t that preposterous anymore.
(on that note) I mix special salts for joints in my bath.
Modern Talking reminds me of my childhood disco dancing with my parents on the beach.
I say the phrase “they don’t make good movies like they used to” way too often.
the C word pops in my head more often than sex does.
I don’t go to bed without cream on my face, because in the morning I will find some wrinkle that wasn’t there before.
my favorite television series is still “Ally McBeal”.
I enjoy jazz more with every passing day.
I struggle to fight gravity on a daily basis.

Like Marilyn Monroe once said about turning 25: “A quarter of a century! Makes a girl think”. Well, turning 35…makes a girl think even more. Let’s think together on what the meaning of “older” is for each of us, on a lighter note of course. “Let’s not dwell on the deeper meaning of getting older and on the inevitable and inexorable passing of time” I tell myself without success every single day. But getting older definitely has some good parts as well. I know mine and I feel I am getting better every single day, like a vintage wine (eye roll in the background).