The Privilege of Growing Olde

(image from theodysseyonline.com, originally from crafthubs)

It's 7:11 pm and I'm in my pajamas.  The week before school starts is a busy one for most parents, and the more children you have, the busier it is.  In addition to that, I've made arrangements for Logan to continue going to school here while at the same time trying to make plans for if he is not here, and that's a little complicated.

But anyhow, I put on my pjs because it rained today and a cold front came in.  I know, it's not "cold", but it was a good excuse.  I stared at myself in the mirror and thought, Hey, I put on my pjs and it's not, like, midnight.  Am I old now?  My grandma was in her pjs by 6pm sitting in front of the telly.  My granny was too.  So that's what I'm thinking of when I ask myself that question.

I don't like the word "old".  When we throw out it food, it's because it's old.  When we get rid of something that's broken and doesn't work anymore, it's usually because we've had it so long that it doesn't function, like a piece of furniture or a washing machine.  We get rid of it because it's "really old".  My kids won't listen to some music because it's "old" ("Our Lips Are Sealed" by the Go-Go's came on the radio the other day, and my fourteen year old daughter said, (with as much disgust as a 14 year old can muster, which is quite a lot), "What is that?")

I used to think, kind of naively, that if I just decided that I wasn't going to get old, then I just wouldn't.  That the aging process would slow, the same way that people use mental imagery to battle terminal illnesses.  (Cue the laughter of elders here.)

Certainly your outlook plays a huge role in how you confront life changes.  So I've decided that instead of getting "old", I'm going to get "olde".

Besides loving almost all things British, I love the word "olde".  Think about it.  If you shop at Ye Olde Grocery Store, you are at THE grocery store.  There is no other store but that one.  It's the place to be.  If you eat at "The Olde Restaurant" then you are probably eating really good food, and if you stay at "The Olde Stone Cottage" or the "Olde Inn" then you are probably staying at some wonderfully cozy and quaint place that has beds as soft as a cloud and giant stone fireplaces and a woman that somebody calls "mum".

"Olde" implies a history, something that has been there and seen things, something that is worth going to and something that will be there for years to come.  Growing old may be a privilege, but growing olde sounds like an adventure.