I've never really been on friendly terms with my age ... but neither have the terms been unfriendly. More like "How do you do?" when passing on the street terms. It's like those moments when you see a fellow blogger on the sidewalk and you think ... "I know I must know them from somewhere," ... so you give a slight nod when you make eye contact when passing and then wrack your brain afterwards wondering how you know the person.
Today my age and I intersected paths when I was in the dressing room at Target. It's an awkward place to meet. The hall is narrow and the stalls few in number. We actually almost nearly collided. I began a polite apology but then I looked up ... and it was her. It was like the time I actually met Donna ... she was walking out and I was walking in ...
"Hey, aren't you ... ?"
"Yeah ..."
"It's good to meet you."
Eye contact was made. Recognition. And then pleasantries. But when you walk away ... you're never the same. You're a better person because a stranger now has a face, a voice, a body and you have a friend.
And I will never be the same. Because today, my age and I finally met. We just sort of caught up with each other. It was bound to happen, I suppose. I looked at her. She looked at me. Not much was said. But the moment seemed like an eternity. We nodded and stepped aside, allowing the other to pass.I'm quite shaken by the encounter, actually. I'll never be the same.
4 comments:
Good post... Age is a funny thing to encounter. I had a less pleasant encounter today with my own in my bathroom mirror, in fact. It hit me when I was putting my hair in messy pigtails and donning an old Chicago Bears hoodie... that I am 25, almost 26 Am I too old now for pigtails and ratty college-style hoodies? I decided to just shrug to my reflection and walk out... maybe I stuck my tongue out at Age for good measure. :)
Oh, and thanks for the props -- it really was great to finally meet you last semester, though I'm afraid I was in my usual hurried and distracted state of mind. I hope to run into you again soon and we can have a real conversation. Have a great Sunday!
It was nice to finally meet you the other day on campus...after having met through our mutual blogging interests.
It was actually Donna who got me doing it in the first place. We should soon have you over for our outloud community reading very soon...as I am sure you would feel at home...smile.
Funny how in a brief moment of recognition, our understanding of ourselves (what we perceive) comes into alignment with reality (what is true). It is like meeting oneself all over again.
Good post.
Yes, I confess ... I enjoy toothpaste for dinner ... and I think more people would too if they knew about it.
Actually, I found TfD on accident. The first image I found while Googling images for "striped socks".
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