Acting my age and Harry Potter.

August 8, 2011

Well another birthday has come and gone quietly this year. I am 29 for the second time (times 2). Before you run for the calculator app on your phone…that equals 58. Some one asked me if I felt old and I replied no. My secret to not felling older? Well I don’t look at mirrors any longer unless I am just forced to. That way I don’t notice that crazy old woman that appears to be stalking me at every turn. I did put on my new bifocals the other day and caught a good look at her. Mercy but she looks just like me in the far off future!

I have to wonder some times just what the phrase “Act your age” means. What does a 58 year old woman act like? In my mind I am still able to do some of the things I did in my 30”s. I can’t dance like I used to that’s for sure. But I am physically capable to if I don’t turn my foot as I am prone to doing.

When the latest and last Harry Potter movie came out, my husband and I had tickets to the midnight premier. As my ‘luck’ would have it, I turned my ankle that afternoon and tore the ligaments across the arch of my foot. Again. I was in some kind of horrendous pain but nothing was going to deter me from seeing that movie that night.

I wrapped my injured appendage, dug out my personal pair of crutches (I’m a tad bit accident prone!), took some extra strength Aleve and we headed on up the highway to Oxford. When we arrived at 10PM the line was already 4 deep and backed down to Penny’s. Scott and the girls ran on and secured our spot in line as I limped slowly to join them.

An Epiphany struck me as I surveyed the vast crowd of college kids and high school students and young parents with their children. They were in various types of costumes depicting their favorite character from the movies. There I was, this old woman, hobbling up and I heard a kid say that I was doing the best Mad Eye Moody impression they had ever seen. It kind of perked me up. A little later, a columnist for the local paper me came over and interviewed us simply because we were older and I was on crutches and the little blurb was printed.

When the doors were opened and the crowd started in I picked up some speed to get a good seat. I normally want a middle of the row seat but this time I really wanted the aisle. We secured our seats and settled in for the movie. After it was all over and I looked around, I finally saw a few folks that were probably in my age bracket. We quietly acknowledged each other with a nod of the head.

I may be another year older, and lately as I read the obits there are people my age that are passing on, but I am very thankful for good health and a healthy mind. I still don’t know what it means to act my age. I know NOT to dress like my young daughters, which is just wrong on so many levels. But I have lost my middle age spread and we are now the same size which I think is a pretty good thing. I will concede to acting appropriately, what ever that means! But I’m never going to ACT my age. There is too much leeway in that. How about I just keep on being me taking it one day at a time and Lord only knows what I can get into each day.