Crossing the chasm.

Well,it is official-I am over the hill.Old.Not young anymore.
I turned 40 today.So I might be young at heart,but not in reality anymore!
On the bright side,I can attribute any goof up on my part to the vagaries of old age!!Forgot a birthday-too old to remember things,sorry!! Can't lift heavy things-well I am a doddering old lady you know?Couldn't make dinner-oh,I felt so weak,I had to take a nap!
I'm just kidding!!Since these days, any age ending in a zero is supposedly that  age minus 10,I am only 30! 40 is the new 30!!Hmmm I wonder about the ten your old two houses down.........
The first wishes I received were by email-from friends I have known for a very long time-one almost from kindergarten!
All three friends who wished me are ,ahem,the new 30 already and I did not even remember to wish them on their special day.Way back then(more like last month)I did not have the excuse of old age to fall back on-so it was forgetfulness plain and simple!!.But they made it a point to remember and send me wishes.Thank you ladies!!I am glad to join the oldies club!!Esteemed company for sure!!
Jokes apart, this is what I noticed - even an email from someone you knew when you were much younger,seems to give you a feeling of being young again.One of my friends is someone I knew in school,and the other two from college-and the memories we share are mostly from the time period when we spent a  huge amount of time together-like in class,or in the case of college friends,the dorm too.
Once we move on with our lives,we might update ourselves on how our lives are going,but our shared memories are always going to be from the time in our lives when we were young,free,and far more irresponsible-no kids,better halves,in-laws,mortgages,car loans,homework,assignments,lunches and dinners to cook and most of all, no worries about the future.Memories of school days and lab classes and P.E,nuns we liked,nuns we did not, Hardy Boys,Nancy Drew,Hitchcock,Famous Five,gossip sessions in the dorm,food we shared,families we met,lecturers we liked,lecturers we hated,movies we watched......
I also reconnected with a friend from college through email.He sent me a mail to remind me of my upcoming dotage and unfortunately picked the wrong date!But that set off a flurry of emails between the two of us that kept us grinning from ear to ear and thinking deep thoughts all at once.
So every opportunity to reconnect and keep in touch with friends from yore,is an opportunity to make yourself feel younger-and since science shows us that our mind and body are intertwined, doing good for our mind, might help our body as well.I don't mean reverting to bell bottoms and disco balls! I went too far back I think! A.R.Rahman anyone?
So thanks Grace,Kat,Vaigai and Balaji-for welcoming me into the club and making the transition less traumatic!!