Time Keeps on Slippin', Slippin', Slippin' ...

As mentioned before, I enjoy going for a run around the neighborhood.  While I'm out running, I usually pass by several other people walking, running, and cycling.  When I get close, I'll casually wave and give them a tight-lipped smile, just to be polite.  In almost every case, the other person responds similarly (though I've noticed that women are more likely to actually say "hi," while men tend do a head nod or hand wave).  Except for teenagers.

Anyway, the reason I bring this up is because I notice who is traveling nearby and on my latest run I passed by a teenage girl wearing a Nirvana shirt.  I realized as I was continuing on my way that this girl was wearing a classic rock tee, similar to if I had been wearing a Rolling Stones or Black Sabbath shirt when I was in high school.  Now, I should mention that while I was too young to appreciate Nirvana when they were a band, I do remember being aware of them enough that when Kurt Cobain died, I knew who he was, even as an eleven-year-old.

Even though Nirvana hasn't been a band for nearly twenty years, it still feels weird to have a band that was around during my lifetime be considered "classic."  The easiest way to describe it is to say that it makes me feel old, but it's more complex than that.  I was alive during Nirvana's existence, but I was too young to be considered their demographic.  When bands like Interpol or The White Stripes are considered classic rock, I'll feel old, but this isn't quite that.

What this feels like is a step in that direction, and while we aren't there yet, it feels like a reminder of how close we're getting ("Just another ten years!").  That, in many ways, is an odder feeling.  I think we've all had a moment where we feel old, even when we aren't really (I remember saying "I feel so old!" several times during my senior year of high school).  But feeling like you aren't really old, just getting closer to being old, is a bit creepier.  Time hasn't suddenly crept up you without warning, it's walking slowly toward you, unrelenting and unstoppable.  Sounds like a horror movie, right?  But growing older isn't scary, it's just a part of life.  Change is scary, and growing older is a very strong reminder that life isn't the same anymore.

However, this coming from a man who's moved to a place he's never been before just over a month ago and working a job that's unlike anything he's ever done before.  Aging just doesn't seem that daunting right now.