Things That, Conversely, Make Me Feel Young

None of our furniture matches.

We don’t have a bedroom set.

We have a small baby.

“Gimme More,” which is the kind of song that usually makes me feel old, instead makes me feel young because I keep thinking it sounds EXACTLY LIKE Britney Spears is BURPING the word “more,” instead of growling sexily as she intends. And thinking things are burps, and that burping is funny, is something I associate with the younger members of our household.

Because I started having kids earlier than what’s usual for my area, I’m often the baby of the group of moms.

Paul saying, “I finally figured something out. Whenever I see one of your friends or an actress you say is our age, I’m always surprised. I just realized it’s because I compare them to YOU, and you look so much younger, so they seem old.” Good stuff, Paul! Keep up the good work!

36 thoughts on “Things That, Conversely, Make Me Feel Young

  1. Tammy

    It interesting, because I had my first child at 19, and my second at 22, so I imagined that I would be this young Mom and my kids would think I was cool when they were teenagers. To my dismay, they think I am very old at the ripe age of 35.
    None of our furniture matches either, and I refuse to spend heaps of money on it when everything thing we acquire gets ruined by either the kids or our pets.
    Happy New Year Swistle!!!!!
    I only found your site recently and I am enjoying it immensely.

    Reply
  2. Ellen

    Very much thinking Paul is a) smart and b) a keeper, which are both good traits in a man you want to help you in the management of four children. Nice catch. ;-)

    Reply
  3. Beth A.

    Oh, well done Paul!

    Your saying having a young baby makes you feel young reminds me of something my mother said once. I had asked her if having young children at a relatively late age (she had me at 36) made her feel young. She fixed me with a jaundiced eye and said, “No, you aged me before my time.”

    Now that I’m 33 with a two-year-old, I’m starting to understand what she meant…

    Reply
  4. AndreAnna

    Most of my friends are in their late 20s like me, but most of them are unmarried or single and NONE of them have children. That makes me feel old, like last night, when I left them all right after dinner because I could not bear being awake past 11 pm.

    But, when I hang out with my “mom” friends that I was forced to find on my own, I am the youngest, and though I enjoy not feeling old, I feel like they always make comments about my age, derrogatorily.

    Like, “Oh, wait until you have TWO and hit 30!” or “She’s too young to remember that.” or “I thought the same thing to at your age.”

    Geez, people I’m 27, not 14. Not 50.

    Sometimes I feel like I don’t fit anywhere.

    Reply
  5. kimmothy

    You just made me feel a lot better about our furniture. We’ve been married eight years and the only matching items are the dining room set we just got and the living room tables. Wow, now that I think about it, we need new furniture. A lot of new furniture.

    Reply
  6. Jess

    Go Paul!

    Also, a lot of our furniture matches, but only because it came from the same color line at Ikea. So I’m pretty sure I can still allow that to make me feel young.

    Reply
  7. Laura

    I am the youngest mom, by a huge margin, in my daughter’s graduating class. It makes me feel young to know that. But, I really hate it when I am chatting with another parent at a school function and they say,”Well, when you get to be our age…” and I am a FULL decade younger than them. Can’t they see that in my smooth skin, sparkling eyes and rosy complexion?????

    Reply
  8. Sara

    paul is the man!
    also…since you love baby stuff and all…i just posted Ella’s nursery pictures on my blog. Check it out if you get a chance.

    Reply
  9. Black Sheeped

    What is this “bedroom” “set” you speak of? If it includes a dresser purchased from a flea market, complete with broken handles and chipped stain, and also maybe some pet hair tumbleweeds and also maybe mattresses on the floor with no bed frame, then I have one! A fancy, complete one!

    Reply
  10. Farrell

    Paul gets a little somethin’ somethin’ for that, no? Action-reward program is what i’m talking about.
    OMIG. I would LOVE to have living room furniture that matches. It’s my dream.
    Bedroom furniture: I have it, it matches, but that wasn’t until after 3 yrs. of marriage. You still have time:)

    Reply
  11. Tessie

    I’ve mostly given up on matching/nice things until kids are A Certain Age, a philosphy I used to roll my eyes at but which now seems SMART.

    We looked at some houses recently and actually rejected a few as “too nice-maybe in a few years”.

    Reply
  12. SP

    Oooo, good man Paul!

    I feel old and young based on things just like that too.

    Teenagers being stupid = scary
    Fart jokes = awesome

    I’m pretty content with my young oldness.

    Reply
  13. Anonymous

    Here’s how I feel young: have your first child while in college(she’s nearly 18 now and all my friends have little ones)

    and oh, marry a man 13 yrs older. Works like a charm!

    Reply
  14. Saly

    Go Paul!

    This made me feel a bit younger even though by this time next year I will be 30 with a 5-year-old, 3-year-old and 5-month-old. GAAAH!!

    Reply
  15. skiplovey

    Oh my gosh we were just given a bunch of hand me down furniture that’s all nice and matchy and my first thought was “wow does this mean I’m old if my furniture matches?”
    it’s it given to you it doesn’t count, right?

    Reply
  16. Mairzy

    Just the fact that I feel young makes me feel young, until I get around 17-year-olds and realize how they see me. Then I’m not young anymore.

    I was 23 when I had my first child, so I was always on the younger end of things. When on earth did 23 become “practically a baby yourself”?!

    Yay, Paul!

    Reply

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