Wednesday, November 20, 2013

"You're a pre-old lady."

Donna's 50th birthday is tomorrow and she's been embracing the last few days of her 40s with relish. As you can imagine, this milestone is the topic of many conversations in our home.

Skye loves birthdays. She seizes any opportunity to celebrate and party. I love her enthusiasm and zest for life. She really does mirror Donna in that way. As she's been learning more about birthdays and discerning what growing older means, she's establishing her own sliding scale for age. Although she believes that 50 is old, she also recognizes that Donna is in no way an "old lady." She believes that Donna acts like she's in college or even in high school, because she's so cool.

However, although I'm still in my early 40s, she announced last night at dinner that I'm a "pre-old lady." I've heard a lot of conditions that start with "pre-." Pre-diabetes, pre-hypertension, ,and pre-cancerous are some that come to mind. Now, Skye has coined the phrase, "pre-old lady." I suppose in medical terms, that would make me pre-geriatric.

As I think about our life together, Donna really has inspired me to have more fun by teaching me how embrace my inner-child and play more. Clearly, I have to show more playfulness to kick the "pre-old lady" label Skye has imposed on me. Donna perpetually finds ways to laugh at the absurdities of life and find ways to play. One of the highlights of our year is Halloween. As you can see in the photo, we love that holiday and join in the fun as often as possible. And I've even stepped out of my comfort zone and donned a "Clifford the Big Red Dog" costume during one of Skye's book fairs. So, Donna has given me the gift of playfulness.


Donna's my anti-dote for aging
I believe that playfulness makes for great longevity and that as our children grow up, they will recognize how fortunate they are to have parents who refuse to grow old. As each year passes, my definition for old continues to change. When I was Skye's age, I shared her idea that parents were old. Now, I refuse to believe I'm aging as quickly as our children are.
Clifford came to play at school one day



I think that as our children grow up, they would both agree that we (especially Donna) are anything but old. Donna still plays hide and seek with the kids. I love listening to their gleeful screams as they burst into each room of the house trying to locate her. She loves to draw out the game until they are nearly trembling with a mix of excitement and fear before she leaps out and scares the heck out of them. This game is another frequent form of entertainment in the Graffam home.

So, I'll hold up my other half as my anti-dote for being a pre-old lady. I'm confident she's going to make sure I don't grow old before my time. And I can't wait to watch Skye grow up and more readily realize that age is not a number, it's a state of mind. Because one day, I hope to tease her about being a "pre-old lady."