About That Age

Somehow or another, I became an adult. I know it's sort of a thing on the Internet for people to talk about still feeling like a kid, but it's true. It's not so much that I'm a kid at heart (though I still thoroughly enjoy playing with Lego's), but that I don't quite remember the passing of time all that vividly. Sure, there are several very memorable milestones that have happened in my adult life, like, say, getting engaged or getting married. But even so, I have been legally considered an adult for a long, long time now. I just don't remember over a decade of adulting.

Now, I once read an interesting theory that basically says you notice the passing of time by relating it to memorable events in your life. As a kid, your first times come at you in a constant barrage: first step, first day of school, first crush, and so on. Heck, even something like high school has a built-in  deadline of four years. There are so many memorable events that you can point to them easily and mark passage of time that way.

Once you reach adulthood, the milestones come fewer and farther between. Take employment; even if you switch jobs "constantly," you're probably in that job for about two years at a time. The time scales are just different. As a result, time passes with fewer markers and you get the sense of time "flying by." One day you're a kid, and the next, you're suddenly an adult.

I mention all of this because it's a really interesting dynamic. In particular, every now and then, we're reminded of how much time has really passed.

In my case, the Mild Wife and I were sitting around, just talking about something or other. The actual conversation wasn't particularly interesting, but one of us remarked that we can arguably be considered a middle aged married couple. Let that one sink in for a moment. I started this post by talking about feeling like a kid, but I'm at the age where someone could rightfully call me middle aged. I know the interns at work certainly don't think I'm one of them.

The best part, though, was that we had discussion using Korean. You see, there are Korean words for "middle aged man" (ahjussi) and "middle aged woman" (ajumma). If you actually click on those links, the cultural connotations aren't exactly a one-to-one with "middle aged," but they're close enough. I picked some of those words up somewhere in a comic book, and the Mild Wife knows them because she's just smart like that. Either way, we suddenly realized that those Korean words were directly applicable to us.

My favorite part of the discussion went something like:

Mild Wife: "Oh my God! I'm an ajumma!"
Me: (laughs like mad)
Mild Wife: "That makes you an ahjussi, too!"
Me: (doesn't laugh quite as hard)

Yup, I am now of the age where I am an ahjussi. How the heck did that happen?