Age appropriate...

I went over to my friend Cindy’s house yesterday, so I could hang out with her and the kids and meet their new puppy, Toffee (who is just adorable, by the way). While I was there, Cindy’s ten-year-old son, Jordan, said something to the effect of, “it’s funny – you look like a regular woman, and then you talk and you sound like you’re still in high school. And you act like it too… you’re still eighteen!” I’m not quite sure what to make of that… but I’ve decided I’m going to take it as a compliment, because don’t ten-year-olds generally think anyone over the age of 25 is really, really old? Of course, I’m hoping that Jordan didn’t mean to imply that I sneak out of the house every night and meet my friends at the mall… or that I leave my clothes all over the floor of my bedroom and refuse to clean up… or that I play my music really loud and talk back to my parents…

But I have, at times, been told that my voice is a bit “young.” In fact, I used to like to sing, and spent many, many years in various choruses and choirs. But eventually, I sort of got tired of the fact that I sound like I’m 12 years old when I sing. And that, coupled with the fact that no one can ever HEAR me when I’m in a large group (because my voice is not only young, but very quiet, as well), turned out to be quite discouraging. Now, I mostly just sing when I’m alone and no one is around to ask me when I’m running off to Vienna to join the boy’s choir (and I could SO join the Vienna Boy’s Choir… IF they could get over the fact that I’m not a boy…). This is much to the chagrin of my mom, who, I’m sure, would swear I sing like an angel. :)

And speaking of acting younger than you are – my mom and I made our usual Starbucks run this morning, and the woman waiting for her coffee in front of us was a thin, reasonably attractive woman who, I would guess, was somewhere in her mid-50s. She had a stylish short haircut and manicured nails, and was wearing a nice pair of trouser jeans and, inexplicably, a Hello Kitty sweater. Hello Kitty. The little white cartoon cat that’s so popular on Japanese lunchboxes and with the pre-teen set. A quick perusal of Amazon.com reveals a plethora of Hello Kitty merchandise: A Hello Kitty dollhouse… a Hello Kitty toy tiara… Hello Kitty clock radios… Hello Kitty stickers… Hello Kitty twin sheet sets. But also, strangely enough, Hello Kitty car floor mats, and a Hello Kitty license plate frame. So perhaps the cartoon cat is an acceptable accessory even into the teenage years… but there HAS to be a point where it crosses the line from “cute” to “trying a little too hard to be cute,” right? And I feel like that line was crossed at Starbucks today. I guess if I really want to act like I'm still in high school, I should go buy some Hello Kitty floor mats for my car...

By the way, my “Pre-Halloween Holiday Commercial” count is up to five… After tomorrow, I expect the holiday commercials to begin in earnest. :)