Welcome to the Wednesday Coffee Hour here at Street Prophets. This is an open thread where we can talk about what's going on in our worlds. Everyone is welcome to discuss all topics of conversation, to post photos, and answer that eternal question: "What's for supper tonight?"
It occurred to me recently that I am finally at an age that I’m comfortable with. I’ve spent most of my life trying to pretend I was older than I was and feeling more at ease around people who were at least 10 years older than me. For a long time, the sorts of things that interested me seemed to only interest older people: gardening, reading, collecting dishware, classical music, and cats. I have finally reached the age where it’s not odd for me to like these things and it’s nice.
Recently, I was with a group of friends and someone asked, “If you didn’t know what your age was, how old would you think you are?” At first everyone started saying things like, “I feel just as fit as I did when I was in college.” But the longer we thought about it, the more uncertain everyone became. It’s really hard to know what people are supposed to look and act like at different ages.
It’s also hard to know what animals are supposed to look and act like at different ages. I have two elderly dogs right now. One is 14 and the other just turned 17 this month. Whenever I buy their dog food I have to laugh at the label that says “for mature dogs” on it because those two are the most immature dogs I’ve ever known. If their faces weren’t covered in white fur and you didn’t notice that most of their teeth are gone, I don’t think you’d be able to guess that they are both “senior” dogs.
A few months ago I adopted a 4 month old kitten and it was the first time I’ve ever thought about how old I might be when she turns 20. It was a little unnerving to think that that will be something I will have to consider from now on whenever I adopt a new pet. I’ve seen how hard it is on cats and dogs who lose their elderly humans when they die or go into a nursing home and I wouldn’t want to put one of my animals through that.
According to our much missed BlueJessamine, it's Booby Wednesday and this is a Public Service Announcement: Self exams can save lives!