Some of us are young at heart, and some of us are just cranky old curmudgeons hiding in the bodies of young hosts. Just by looking at what's on the surface, no one can tell the difference, but these fourteen signs of invisible oldness can help you figure out whether you're a true whippersnapper... or an elderly imposter.
1. Something always hurts.
Your back, your wrists, your feet - there's always pain somewhere. Bonus points if it's either (or both) of your hips.
2. You can't see (and you're a little in denial about it).
You spend more time than you'd care to admit squinting at the TV... from six feet away. You flat-out refuse to put your glasses on, though; that would be admitting defeat.
3. Your idea of "fun" isn't the same as your everyone else's.
You'd much sooner spend the evening reading or knitting in bed than at a "rager" with the "crew," but that's okay. Your cat(s) will still hang out with you.
4. You already went through your party girl/drunken jackass phase, and you're pretty much over it.
You were a Wild Child before it was cool, and you squeezed every drop of fun out of that lifestyle while you were living it. Now you really just want to kick back with a beer (or ten) in your recliner, and then pass out in front of the TV.
5. You're easily disoriented.
ADHD, Alzheimer's... what's the difference, really?
6. People often describe you as "quirky" or "eccentric."
By this, what they really mean to say is that you're completely out of your goddamn mind, but you choose to take it as a compliment anyway. Haters gonna hate.
7. Your driving can sometimes be... questionable.
Combine your near-legal blindness and chronic disorientation and you've got the perfect recipe for vehicular manslaughter. Luckily, you're too much of a Nervous Nellie to ever let something like that happen, but anyone driving in your vicinity will undoubtedly be subject to plenty of abrupt stops and pointless lane changes.
8. You're technologically illiterate.
You're not so behind that you still have a flip phone or anything crazy like that, but you do tend to avoid technology unless it's absolutely necessary that you use it. Consequently, you only have accounts on two or three of the seven million forms of social media currently available, and your use of those is spotty at best.
9. You pay attention to syntax and use proper punctuation in your texts and social media posts.
You routinely use semicolons in your text messages to friends, and don't understand why they ridicule you mercilessly for doing so.
10. You've begun a sentence with the phrase, "in my day."
Coming from someone your age, these words never fail to raise eyebrows, since "your day" was pretty much... well, today. As far as you're concerned, however, you're making perfect sense.
11. You see nothing wrong with going to bed before 9:30.
Isn't that just forward-thinking? I mean, how else will you be able to make it in time for the Early Bird brunch specials?
12. You could nap competitively.
No matter how early you went to bed last night, you could always use a nap... or several. You've been known to nap in some unconventional places, too, like on campus shuttles or park benches. There's been speculation in the past that you might be narcoleptic, but no. You're just tired.
13. You have absolutely no filter.
You say just about anything and everything that pops into your head and worry about the consequences later. A lot of what comes out of your mouth sends jaws plummeting to the floor, but honestly, people love you for it. After all, most of what you say is just what everyone else was already thinking.
14. You take orders from no one.
You have zero tolerance for disrespect, and do not suffer fools gladly. You are old and wise, so anyone telling you what to do is clearly confused and in desperate need of some schooling.