When do the "Young" become "Old"?

"Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter" 

-Mark Twain

As I approach the rite of passage into another decade (my third for those wondering), I say a fond farewell to my twenties and hello to life in my thirties.  As often occurs when one approaches a milestone birthday one re-evaluates their life.  One reflects on their past, what have they accomplished?  What mistakes have they made which they can learn from?  What do they hope to achieve in the future?

Jay, my boyfriend and "partner in crime" has two daughters who I adore, ages 15 and 12 years old.  The movie "Ghost" came up, and they looked in awe, and I said, "you know, Patrick Swayze {still nothing} Dirty Dancing {pondering} "Nobody puts baby in a corner!".  I was greeted with blank stares, and then finally a collective "Who's that?".  It was then that it hit me (along with shock and appall)....  I am older than the young, and younger than the... wise ;) I am in "middle land".  So when do those considered young, get considered old?

I do not feel old, but I do not feel young.  Those older than me often scoff when I say that- perhaps they forget what it felt like to be this age; or perhaps when I am their age I will perform the same obligatory action. I suppose I have nothing else to compare it to... yet.  As that day of my birth passes, I never feel  a sudden surge of feeling "older", rather hopefully wiser, and more experienced with each passing year.

In the beginning, there was me

When I was born my mom would often joke and say I was 5 going on 50. I suppose you can say I was born an old soul trapped in a young body.  I spent my child hood growing up quickly on the city streets of Brooklyn, to a single mom who raised me alone.  I started working when I was 14; I was also born with a heart condition and the knowledge I would need open heart surgery since I was two.  That knowledge changes your perspective on death, and more importantly life at a very early age...  Sometimes depending on your life you  simply grow up faster than others I suppose.   I have always tried to live "in the moment", to "be present" and make the most of each and every single day.

Babci when she was a Young girl

My beloved grandma "Babci" and my Baby Boy Luka

My grandmother used to say, "In my heart I still feel like I am sixteen years old, and then I look in the mirror and scream, 'Yikes who is that women with all the wrinkles looking back at me'"?

 I have spent much of my life around seniors (my beloved grandmother, great aunts and uncles, and volunteering at nursing homes and adult homes).  I always found it so sad how people would grow old, and the majority never had any visitors.  I would go paint their nails and fix their hair, sit and talk, but more importantly- I would listen.  They were filled with so much wisdom and experience, stories of  generations long gone by and forgotten.  We all will be, someday.  "The meaning of life is the impact we have on others" Jay often says, and I could not agree more.  Their stories hopefully will get passed down from generation to generation.  I know I cherished the time I spent with them, and the beautiful memories they shared with me.

"Grandma" Annie,  my grandmothers roommate.  I still go visit her  after my Grandma passed away.
Pink is her fav color too! :)

Now with things like Social Media, and the Cloud, we are entering a very new and unprecedented arena.  We can capture, store,and save things unlike anytime before in history.  My sister will be creating a Facebook page dedicated for her daughter (who is due on my birthday :)).  She will be able to "virtually scrap book"  her entire life through pictures, special events and a timeline of her life. What an incredible time in history that such a thing is even possible.

My Mom and my Aunt Chris as Little Girls

With aps like "Memo Lane" we can get emails about our history for the last few years.  Imagine how amazing it would be if you can carry those memories from one generation to the next, "Michelle, on this day in history 65 years ago your Grandfather proposed to your Grandmother under the Board Walk in Coney Island NY... than they shared a chilli cheese dog". :)  We can virtually document and store our thoughts, our pictures, our lives forever more.  When my grandmother passed away, I got all of her albums ( I love pictures, because I feel like they capture memories in time).  I scanned them all in and shared them to FB.  I tagged all of my relatives, their children, and grand children.  My uncle Eddie was turning 75 and had never seen them, and it made him cry with happiness to see all of the pictures of time gone by, and memories long forgotten.  This is the power of the internet.

My grandmothers wedding day

As time goes by, I will forever be grateful for the time I have on this earth (however long it may be),  the lessons I learn along the way , and the memories I make with each passing year.  I am compiling a list of the 30 lessons I have learned in my 30 years on earth (short or long as you deem them to be).  I will be sharing them on my Birthday-May 7, and that too will go into the virtual land of memories which I can reflect on with passing years, and decades.  Long after I am gone from this earth, maybe my great grand-kids can open up my blog and read what their grandma once looked like, thought and felt before she was old... or at least wrinkly :)