Tunes for Tuesday – Old

One of my favorite recent songs by Paul Simon is “Old” off of the “You’re the One” cd. It makes me giggle. It puts my age into perspective. And every year I wear out that track on my iPod during this week. It’s my birthday week! My husband calls it “Jane-a-kuh” because it lasts for at least a week. We kicked it off this past weekend going to a Christmas Tree farm to pick out our tree. The kids and I decorated it on Sunday listening to Christmas carols. On Monday I received my first card in the mail and this morning a friend called to set up a birthday lunch date. Such fun already and it’s only Tuesday!

One thing my parents did right was our birthdays. No chores on your birthday. You chose the dinner. You chose the activity to do as a family. It was all about YOU! People would ask me if I felt cheated because my birthday fell in the Christmas month. Nope. The friends and relatives that I saw at Thanksgiving, that I wasn’t going to see at Christmas, would start their birthday good wishes then. My birthday would arrive and we would celebrate. And then there are always people who are late (God love ’em!) or who wouldn’t see me until Christmas, so good wishes would continue until the December holidays. Before you knew it, I was celebrating for an entire month. Who wouldn’t love that?

Then I became an adult. Fewer gifts. Less of a desire for parties. And at certain milestones, not so excited to recognize yet another year on this planet. This year I turn 40-something plus one. (Oh, my heart just skipped a beat. Yikes!) It’s hard getting older. Physically. Mentally accepting the new age. Or not accepting it, as the case may be.

Last Christmas, when my in-laws came to visit, they brought some things from the house they thought we might like. They were cleaning out their attic. “We’re only going to be around for about 10 more years,” my mother-in-law said. 10 more years? Whoa! I can’t think that way. I refuse to count down the number of years I may have left. But then I did it. And I doubled my age and if I’m anything like my grandparents I’ve just passed the top of the hill on my way downhill. Oh. My. God. Seriously? I truly am middle-aged. When did THAT happen?

Old – Paul Simon

“The first time I heard “Peggy Sue”
I was 12 years old
Russians up in rocket ships
And the war was cold
Now many wars have come and gone
Genocide still goes on
Buddy Holly still goes on
But his catalog was sold” – This is a bit before my time. But when I look back so much has happened in my short lifetime. First Man on the Moon.Vietnam. The Beatles. I’ll just insert those historical references.

“First time I smoked
Guess what – paranoid
First time I heard “Satisfaction”
I was young and unemployed
Down the decades every year
Summer leaves and my birthday’s here
And all my friends stand up and cheer
And say man you’re old
Getting old
Old
Getting old” – When I turned 25 my grandmother said to me, “Do you realize you’ve been alive a quarter of a century?” Whoa. When I realized that, I was a little depressed. A quarter of a century seemed sooooo old. I laugh now. To be 25 again? Where do I sign up?

“We celebrate the birth of Jesus on Christmas Day
And Buddha found nirvana along the lotus way
About 1,500 years ago the messenger Mohammed spoke
And his wisdom like a river flowed
Through hills of gold
Wisdom is old
The koran is old
The bible is old
Greatest story ever told” – Jesus, Mohammed alive over 1500 years ago. And we’re still talking about them. Their presence is still felt so very many years later. That kind of impact is amazing – and old.

“The human race has walked the earth for 2.7 million
And we estimate the universe at 13-14 billion
When all these numbers tumble into your imagination
Consider that the Lord was there before creation
God is old
We’re not old
God is old
He made the mold” – That line always makes me giggle, “He made the mold.” He certainly did. And in 2.7 million years my existence here is a mere blip on the radar. I don’t even know if I rate a whole blip. I’m not really all that old after all, am I?

Click here to listen to this fun song. I tried and tried to find  a video of it or a way to showcase the song itself on this page but to no avail. It’s only 2:20 minutes long and it’s free (as long as you haven’t used up your 24 other free “listens” at this site). So, in honor of Jane-a-kuh – take a little music break. It’s on me!