Age-A number that means nothing

Americans worship youth. It is the ultimate insult for your age to be guessed higher than it is. Only when you are 6 do you wish people think you are older than you are. An article on CNN "Quest for eternal youth starts earlier" illustrates even people in their early twenties are using products to try to look younger. It's as if younger is automatically better.

This understanding of the irrelevance of the number came up at Christmas. I made a comment about people who are 40 and my Grandma asked me if I was 40 yet. I laughed and said no...but she said it with such seriousness that I had to ask..."How old do you think I am?" Well she guessed 35. For those of you who don't know me...we're talking a decade off. I was at first insulted.
I decided that I shouldn't take it personal because
A. She is 80 and therefore everyone under 60 is a "young'n"
B. Last year my birthday card read "To my lovely niece" so I'm not confident Grandma is as sharp as she used to be.

I was bothered by my immediate reaction. Shouldn't I be pleased because she felt I acted with the grace and maturity of someone older? It wasn't because I thought my Grandma should know me better than that. I wouldn't have been insulted if she thought I lived in Iowa versus Indiana...so why is my age relevant? It's not that I wish to be younger than I am. In fact, I'm quite comfortable with being an adult. I like being financially independent, self-sufficient, and able to make my own decisions.

For any of you who wish to return to the junior high years...I'm confident you are psychologically suppressing your memories. Any brief glimpse back to that era sends shivers down my spine. For me it was an era of ultimate uncertainty of who I was, where I was going, and even what I was doing. I made a lot of poor decisions based on unbalanced emotions.

I don't want to be older...nor do I want to be younger. Rather my goal is to live my life in the present. Take therefore no thought for the morrow; for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. Matthew 6:34

The more I worry about my age and what I'm not doing. Do I frivolously waste the present moment? Age is irrelevant...only a number to determine when you can drive, smoke, drink, and receive social security benefits.