Well, I have been officially 35 for one week and one day now. So far, it feels a lot like 34, which felt a lot like 33, which felt a little like 32 that, in turn was reminiscent of 31. Thirty-one reminded me of the better part of 23 while simultaneously morphing into what I can only imagine 60 to feel like. I constantly remind myself that I am only as old as I feel. The problem is that I have ever only really been ages 0 - 35 so my references are a bit askew. I can't, in all honesty, say that I "feel" 87 since I have no experiences being 87. I can use the information I've gathered from others to postulate what it might feel like to be a different age, but it is wholly based on another person's life and experiences and not my own. But I digress...
As I've celebrated each anniversary of the day of my birth I have been barraged with stories regarding one age being the "new" x age. This seems to me to be complete and utter hogwash. How can 40 be the new 30? Perhaps if I frame it in the proportional age reference of our times, where people are living longer and thereby an age that for one generation seemed "old" is now, taking current life expectancies into account, somewhat, for lack of a better term, routine. People are living and working longer. Sixty-five, from this viewpoint, doesn't seem too old to retire. Yet, that is what most people expect to do. Well, God Bless You if you are able to do that. I, for one, get a nice little reminder every year from the government about how much income I would be taking in based on a variety of "retirement" ages. So far, if I work until I'm 78, I'll bring home the maximum amount I can expect. Of course, these forecasts do not take other economic factors into account. Much like the cost of living varies from place to place ($40,000 per year of income in one area may mean that you live rather comfortably while the same amount in another area puts you at borderline poverty level) the cost of living in the future will surely be greater than what it is now. Bread may be $100 a loaf, in which case the $5000 I could potentially take home after retirement doesn't seem that comforting. All this is assuming I'll have anything left to retire on, of course.
I'm thinking of proposing a radically different idea behind the whole "age" thing. I'm going to treat 35 like the new 35. In theory we shouldn't worry about tomorrow, since tomorrow is not guaranteed. In reality, I, like many other people, find myself worrying about things that are completely and utterly out of my control. Why do we do that? We're living our lives as if the smallest financial misstep or mistake will follow us to the grave. Please do not misunderstand me and think that I am not a proponent of sound financial management. Quite the contrary. To be responsible with the things God has provided you is of paramount importance. But I'm learning as I grow that sometimes bad, unexpected things occur. Sometimes a car will need an unexpected and costly repair, which may mean you are late on a credit card bill or something. This in turn could lead to a lower credit score or, in extremely harsh circumstances, complete bankruptcy. Granted not everyone who has filed for bankruptcy really deserves or needs to (just one more abuse of the system by those who know). While many of us stay awake at night worrying over things such as these I am trying to learn to breath and trust in God.
I'll sum it up with a fake obituary.
John Smith, 77, of Main St. died on Febutober the eleventeenth after suffering from years of crushing financial mismanagement and debt. Mr. Smith, who had declared bankruptcy in 1998, leaves behind a wife of 40 years and a mortgage of thirty. He is also survived by the long-term effects of several bad investments from the early 1990's the least of which is the purchase of Beanie Baby stock at the expense of his own business expansion. Other mourners include the financial aid loan he took out when his job was downsized and he and his family were forced to live out of their 1974 AMC Pacer for a period of approximately 6 months in 1982. The line of credit extended to him by the Discover card people helped ease the burden for a bit, before his pool cleaning business took a complete nosedive after the "red water" scare of 1993. In addition to those mentioned, he is also survived by several unpaid credit card bills, tax returns, and parking tickets. In lieu of flowers please make payments in his name to the credit card company or bank of your choice. Chances are good that, in the end, whichever one you pick, he owed them money.
I have never seen an obituary like this. And that's the point...
Welcome to the New 35...
No comments:
Post a Comment