There is nothing sadder than acting your age

I saw that quote on a note book and it made me smile. I have a friend who's daughter is my age (I actually have a lot of friends whose children are my age, but that's another story), and she once said she prefered to hang out with 'people my age' because we have more in common, and that friends her own age were becoming very dull, just wanting to complain about ailments or things they don't like in the world, and never wanting to do anything. They just seemed old and boring.  I remember being quite taken aback by her words, but from time to time, when sitting in a room of people, bored with the conversation, those words spring back into my head and make me smile. Ironically, I go and see more concerts with these friends who are now seniors than with any of my other friends. The woman often introduces me to new singers from around the globe, as she seems to know everyone's new music, a very handy friend to have.

Last night we went to see David Byrne and St Vincent. Byrne is still as quirky as ever, and while he's no longer a young man, you can see he clearly loves what he does, and has fun doing the show. There is a moment when he lays down on the ground for a song, popping up to sing lines, then laying back down. The quote jumped into my head. There is nothing sadder than acting your age. He's 60ish but still dancing around in his odd fashion and creating a visually entertaining performance. Not in a 'trying to still be cool' way, or in a desperate 'I'm still young and hip' way, but clearly comfortable in his skin, in a 'here I am, this is what I like to do' fashion.

I delight in reminding myself that aging doesn't have to be the way we tend to think of it, the way I sometimes panic about. The body might decline but the spirit doesn't have to.  Mind you, maybe it comes with a warning, as Byrne is most famous for singing "Watch out, you might get what you're after".

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