Growing Old

Inspiration - "Growing Old" - Outkast "Fat titties turn to teardrops as fat ass turns to flab/Sores that was open wounds eventually turn to scab/Trees bright and green turn yellow brown/Autumn caught em, see all them leaves must fall down/growin old"

What I'm Listening To - "Baduizm" - Erykah Badu

Question(s) - "Why is Blogger buggin out? I have been trying to save this post for 30 minutes"

I think I'm getting old. Don't get me wrong, for the most part I'm still young at heart. I still like to do the things I did when I was in my 20's. I still look young. I still sometimes get carded when I'm buying a drink. But there are a couple of things that have happened since my 30th birthday that lead me to think I might be getting old.

When I was 29, turning 30 was no big deal to me. I had that "age ain't nothing but a number" philosphy. So imagine my surprise the day after my birthday, when I looked in the mirror and saw one gray hair in my beard. It was like the universe was saying, "I'm gonna give you a sign that you are old." I learned to love the solitary gray hair in my beard. It kinda makes me look distinguished. At least that's what I tell myself.

In my teens and twenties, I never got cold. I mean I don't think I owned a coat for the last 10 years. I was the cat that kept his heat off all winter. If it was 30 degrees outside, then I would rock a hoodie, but not a coat. I would pray for snow, and living in ATL, that just didn't happen. Since I turned 30 though its like the script has flipped. All of a sudden I can't stand the cold weather. I find myself using 2 blankets and turning on the heat in my crib. And don't get me started on Georgia Natural Gas and their high ass gas bills. Them mf's sent me a $96.17 gas bill last month. I can't wait for winter to be over; my 31 year old ass is sick of the cold weather.

The worst part of growing old is the little annoying aches and pains that I never used to get. In the last year and a half since I turned 30, I have had little shit happen to me that I can't explain. Last year, after a 4 hour car drive, my neck got so stiff that I couldn't turn my head to the left. So there I was, 30 years old, buying Ben Gay. I also had to go to the doctor for migraines. I had them when I was a kid, but I controlled them in my 20's. Once I turned 30, I was having headaches everyday. I had an MRI and they didn't find anything, luckily. It turns that the cause was mainly caffiene. So I had to give up my morning cup of coffee and my afternoon Cherry Coke. I am not a morning person at all. That caffeine boost was what got me through the day, but now since I am getting old I had to give that up.

The latest sign of getting old happened 2 days ago. I was at my desk at work and decided to walk around. I was getting sleepy and needed to get up to clear my head. I stood up and noticed a sharp pain in my left elbow. I thought nothing of it, but when I got home my arm was so stiff that I couldn't even hold my phone to my ear. (I'm a natural southpaw so I hold the phone in my left hand.) It felt and looked like my elbow was dislocated and needed to be popped back into place. I couldnt understand what happened. It wasn't because of physical exertion, I was just sitting at my desk when my arm locked. That night I couldnt even sleep, because whenever I moved the pain would wake me up. I have to face facts: I'm getting old and there ain't a damn thing I can do about it.

Let me say it again. I still feel young at heart. I listen to young people's music and like to play young people's games. In fact for the most part, I can't believe that I am in my thirties. I still stay up all night like I used to, but it seems like my body is trying to tell me that I am old. Aiight, I'm out.

It was written.