You know you’ve gotten old…

Lately I’ve been feeling pretty old. (With everything that has been going on lately, I'm sure that's not really a surprise. But I mean that in addition to all of that, I have been feeling quite old.) Granted, I know that some people I'm friends with and who I work with consider me to be a young ‘un in comparison to them. And I certainly know I’m not nearing the end of my years or anything so silly as that. But there have been some things lately that have just made me feel, for lack of a better word, old. Which, of course, I’ve absolutely had to put into a list. You didn’t really expect otherwise, did you? So, here we go. You know you’ve gotten old when…

Music you listened to, or that was part of movies you watched, while growing up is being played on the local “oldies” station.

Your kids use terminology that makes absolutely no sense to you in the context they are using it.

“Remember when” has become a staple in your daily conversations.

You catch yourself thinking that a walk around the block is a whole lot more work than it’s worth.

You find relating to your parents a whole lot easier than relating to your children.

Dessert is seldom something you would consider eating first. (Ok, usually.)

You feel guilty for eating a potato chip before dinner, because you know “it will spoil your appetite”.

You clean your entire plate, whether you want the food or not, simply because you feel guilty about wasting what might be left: "There are starving people in Ethiopia who would love to have that food."

Your friends marry and divorce, instead of hook-up and break-up.

You consider renewing your vows for no other reason than all the cool “wedding” gifts you would receive.

You send your friends housewarming and “happy divorce” gifts instead of care packages and “to cheer you up after the breakup” gifts.

You catch yourself arguing with your child over whether the correct spelling is “cookie” or “cooky”. (BTW, spell check doesn’t like “cooky”.)

If someone younger than you says they’ve never seen a movie you consider a classic, you are shocked and insist they need to see it immediately.

You find things such as the Doodlebops, Courage the Cowardly Dog and the Teletubbies, boring, weird and just a little creepy. They will never be as good as the things you used to watch.

You find yourself struggling to keep up with the changes in technology. You reminisce about when things were “simple”.

Your class reunion comes and goes, (doesn’t matter what year), and despite your promises way back when that you’d make it to every single one, you’re not the least bit sorry that you missed it – but are pretty sorry that it’s already time for that reunion.

Pets are suddenly a whole lot more work than they were when you were a kid.

You resist change. Change on a small scale makes you queasy and interrupts your sleep. Change on a large scale gives you chills up and down your spine and breaks you out into a cold sweat. Sometimes it even has the ability to send you into convulsions.

Walking to school "in 6 feet of snow, uphill both ways" suddenly doesn't seem so unbelievable, because when you were a kid...

Suddenly Friday and Saturday nights are just like any other night, and you generally can be found vegging out on the couch in front of the tv.

Your children listen to an Ipod with headphones, and you are constantly telling them to "TURN THE MUSIC DOWN!!!!!"

Having drinks in a bar with your parents is suddenly no big deal.

The price of a ticket, a bucket of popcorn, some Raisinets and a large soda at the movie theater nearly gives you a heart attack, and sends you running to check your bank balance.

You no longer consider the first row in the movie theater as "the best seats in the house".

You find yourself thinking that "these movies have just gotten so loud!"

A DJ on the radio makes reference to some young famous person, and you think, "Who??"

Reality shows are just perplexing to you, and you find yourself wondering "whatever happened to good, wholesome, family shows like M.A.S.H. and The Cosby Show?"

9:00 p.m. rolls around and you start wondering what you're still doing up.

You get surly with teenagers who drive by your house too fast.

You check movies for ratings and read reviews about them before deciding to see them or not.

You fear you've developed AOADD at the ripe old age of 30.

You catch yourself saying ridiculous things you never thought you'd say: "We DO NOT put Pez up our nose!"

You've nodded, smiled, chuckled or outright laughed at everything on this list, knowing I've experienced each and every one - and so have you!!