I went to a concert tonight. Sort of.
I say sort of because...well...concerts have changed a bit since I went to them as a teen. Or a young adult, for that matter. And, friends? For the record?
I am no longer a young adult. I know this now. If I had any doubt of that before tonight, I no longer have a single one.
See, the thing is, the "concert," which was really a worship experience with a speaker, was really great. Awesome music. Two fantastic local bands (Yay, Amy, Jordan, Jon, and Aaron!!), relevant and contemporary worship music...so well done. Excellent energy...friendly people. Except...when I looked around, I realized...Good Lord, I could seriously be that girl's mother. And it wasn't just one girl. It was most of the people in the theater. The speaker was 21. I went tonight with my sweet friend Amy, who sang fabulously in the aforementioned band, and though she's semi-close in age to me, she's still young enough to definitely be considered a "young adult." She's also at a different place in her life: single, working, free-spirited, not tied-down. We hung out with her girlfriends at the concert, and headed to Friendly's afterward...7 girls...eating and chatting and laughing. Only...I wasn't one of the 7 girls, really.
I was, like, the mom. The mom who sat there and...I mean, I laughed along...I listened and interjected and agreed...but other than one other girl who has a 2-year-old (who had her daughter while in college, so, hello, 22), I was the only one there with kids, and, umm, I have 3. And the oldest is almost TWELVE. The girls were sweet. And they never, ever gave me the feeling that I was out of place there with them. I did that all by myself. I just...had nothing to say. It suddenly struck me that I'm seriously not young anymore.
And, to be honest with you, tonight I realized...I'm pretty ok with that.
Frankly, I'm 37 years old. I have three children. Married for 13.5 years. Thirteen and a half years, folks. The people I was with tonight, most of them haven't even been old enough to date for that long. If they started dating at 12.
So, here's the thing: I may feel 23. I might look 30, if I'm super, super lucky and someone is being kind. But...I'm 37. I have laugh lines and crow's feet and stretch marks and experience. It's who I am. Tonight...it became very clear to me that it's ok. And I'm not going to pretend that just because I prefer to rock out to what the 25-year-old single folks sing along with...I should be hanging out with them. If I could figure out where I fit in now, that would help, that's for sure...but the young adult group...they're great...they're just not mine.
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LOL... Oh lord... Going to see Linkin Park in February and will probably feel the EXACT same way!
ReplyDeleteAnd btw... you don't look 37 at all! (And I mean that!)
Amen, Mindy. I am so right there with you. I am reminded of that every summer hanging out with the summer staff...and every Christmas hanging out with Steve's younger sisters...yeah, I still feel 23 too, but oh, we are so not. :) And I'm ok with it too!!! (most days...)
ReplyDeleteI so hear you, Mindy! I was talking with a friend's daughter who just started college, going on and on about InterVarsity and how I loved it when I went to Buff. State, blah blah blah. I realized later that she probably thought I was CRAZY -- I was talking like I was just there 2 years ago. As I keep reminding Melissa, we started college 20 years ago this year! So, yes, "being old" (or maybe being "not young" ;)) has snuck up on me, too. Big time. You're not alone!
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