Age is just a number...

I’ve been told many times growing up that I acted older than I was and I was told this again recently. Suddenly my husband’s voice popped into my head – “age is just a number” and it got me thinking…Age IS just a number. Sure, typically a younger person just wants to have fun and party and cares nothing about taking care of themselves, but is this because of their age or is it because of how they were raised or their personalities?

I’ve met a lot of people who have never grown up, who still act the way they did in high school. Granted it might just be the “man gene” that I take as being immature and it may be that men are not as mature as women are. We women have to balance a lot of “life” where men are often blessed with the ability of simplemindedness. Women have the kids to take care of, the house to keep clean, the appointment book in our heads to keep up with where and when some member of the family is suppose to be somewhere and men…well they ask their wife’s “honey, where is my ___?” or “remind me later to do ____” and even “I thought you were going to do that.” Men forget sometimes that we are only one person and can’t do everything.

Ok, so getting back on track of the age thing. It wasn’t that long ago that people were married and having babies with a good job in their late teens, early twenties. They didn’t expect others to take care of them forever, they didn’t watch TV all the time – they did what they had to in order to survive. Did we as a society change the maturity of the youth with things like Spongebob, American Dad and Family Guy? Anyone who thinks that we are not affected by what we watch on TV are morons. You can tell what kind of a person someone is by who their friends are – why not by the dumbass shows they watch too? I’m sure if a study is done on kids and teens based on what shows they watch and how mature they are, it would prove my point. I have watched the shows on Nickelodeon and find them all irritating – they teach kids how to disobey their parents, sneak around, and do “silly” things for attention. I am determined not to allow my daughter to watch shows that will promote her to grow up and be silly all the time. I would rather her not watch TV at all but I don’t foresee that happening so I’ll have to set rules for what she does watch.

Apparently it is easy for me to get into another tangent and not stick to my “age is just a number” and in essence these are all linked together. Here I am, 26 on Friday, I have worked since I was 14, worked full time and attended college at the same time, have owned my own home before (ex got to keep the house), married, have a daughter and step-son, and want nothing more than to keep my family happy, safe, and together. I feel like that is the true test of maturity – it takes a real person to put their needs behind others and not focusing on only themselves and I feel that once you do that the rest fall into place over time.

So, what makes me seem older than my age? Is it the fact that I’m female, that I didn’t watch the dumb shows or my caring nature? I don’t know but I will be dedicating the next 18 years to trying to figure it out in order to guide my daughter in the same path.