Youth is wasted on the young (and wisdom on the old!)

You Know You Are Getting Old When.....

I guess that the time comes in every one's life when you realise that the rest of the world doesn't see you the way you do. The bright eyed, fresh faced youngster staring back at you in the mirror has become a wrinkled, grizzled and over weight image full of crows feet, cracks and scars, nicks and bumps. You just hadn't noticed.

Well today I had one of mine. I say "one" because at my age even I can't pretend it hasn't happened before. I have been getting cheek from youngsters for some time, and that doesn't even include my kids.

what I think I look like!

It was time for my quarterly hair cut. I go to a barber shop in Durham where nice young ladies will uncomplainingly chop my locks and exchange a few pleasantries about the world at large. When I first started going there I had just got divorced and I considered it therapy - striking up conversation with the opposite sex! 10 years on and I still go there. It seemed to me to be a fair exchange. Conversation and a hair cut for less than £10. Until today. 

How the world sees me

I waited my turn for a spin in the chair in the same time honoured fashion. A load of blokes just sit and look at each other and just nod a bit then one gets up and goes to the offered chair. Things went quite smoothly. I made a few attempts at chat but I think the young lady had her mind on other things. However she caught me gazing at my recently shed hair and asked, in a rather pointed manner I thought, what was I looking at? I was searching out my grey hairs I replied. 

It at this point she uttered the words that cut me to the quick. She said that I was, and here I quote "Doing very well !" Uttered in a manner you would expect from some one just rewarding their dog or at least in some sort of surprise - "Not bad for your age" type comment. 

I am not old, I am 47 you know, going on 23!

So I have reached that point in life where, although I consider myself youthful, virile, windswept and interesting, the world in fact has much lower expectations.