Ageing Pear

Yesterday I realised something wonderful - I am now officially over 30! The fin de siecle moment of almost-being-30 has been survived, the life-plans assessed and either scrapped entirely or accepted serenely, and now 'the future' is being steadily and maturely worked towards. Most importantly, my age means I can now opine on 'how life is' as if I know what I'm talking about. :) So, to celebrate, a list of just some of the advantages of being beyond youth.

- You no longer try to attract EVERYONE. You've gotten a bit fussy and have no more need to attract the wrong kind of attention. You can fill the niche-market that suits you, and, conveniently, being more yourself pleases that niche best. At 21, I wanted everyone to like me, and all the boys to want me; at nearly 31, I only care if the people whom I like like me, and if the boys I want want me. In any case, anyone who doesn't consider me to be the bees knees clearly has terrible taste.

- You've learnt what you like. There's no need to expend precious spare time and energy trying all the latest things and meeting all the coolest people and desperately testing everything that life has to offer: you've spent your 20s giving most things a go already. Now you can just sit on the sofa if you damn well please, drinking the wine that you actually enjoy, listening to the music that you genuinely want to listen to, and chatting to the few people that you truly love the company of.

- I'm not sure if this is actually an advantage, but I have found that I am capable of doing a lot more than my younger self. These days I can (just about) handle balancing not just 'work' but an actual career, plus study, marriage, friends, family, and still find time for walking and preparing meals and keeping my house (relatively) in order. 21-year-old Anne struggled to cope with a dull job, a group of drinking buddies and occasional breezy flings with non-committal men, even whilst being housed and fed by proper adults. At this stage I'm determined to remember this fact, and have some sympathy for my future teenage and 20-something children... but by then I'll be officially middle-aged and will no longer have to have sympathy for anyone.

And that's a happy thought. The future will bring even more rewards of self-assurance and not-giving-a-damn-what-anyone-thinks. And even better - the older I get, the more authority I will have to tell people my long-held belief that older is better, and young people are bloody annoying. :)