personal

i’m old

22 Comments


yesterday i was mentioning that today i turn 43 to a few co-workers. i mentioned that it felt a little weird, as i realized i can’t even say i’m in my “low40s” anymore. toben responded, “oh, sure ya can. 40, 41, 42, and 43 are low 40s; 44, 45 and 46 are mid-40s; and 47 on up are upper-40s; AND there’s one year of wiggle room at the transition year — for instance, if you’re 33 and you want to think of yourself as younger, you can say you’re in your young 30s; but if you want to seem more ‘mature’, you can say you’re in your mid-30s.”

he had the whole system worked out.

so, now i’m not really sure if i’m in my low 40s or my mid-40s. but three things are clear:
1. no one can say “young 40s” with a straight face. “low 40s” maybe, but not “young 40s”.
2. today is my 43rd birthday.
3. i’m old.

i distinctly remember being a little kid and day-dreaming about the then-very-future year 2000, and doing the math to figure out that i’d be 36 at the time. and i thought that just sounded like one-foot-in-the-grave territory. i couldn’t even fathom being 43.

well, there you have it. young 40s or low 40s or mid-40s or old or middle aged or whatever — i don’t feel a day over 30-something!

(and, yes, that is me in the picture, lower right corner, circa roughly 1966 — i’m guessing — about age 3.)

22 thoughts on “i’m old”

  1. Happy Birthday, Marko! I am celebrating with you this day – the day God introduced you to the world. Thank you for continuing to be His instrument of grace and love to those around you and youth workers everywhere. Enjoy your day…

  3. Happy Birthday my friend!!
    Hope you get to spend some quality time with the fam tonight or this weekend.

    And I hope the cleanse is still going well…be encouraged to keep it up.

  4. Happy Birthday Marko! Not to burst your bubble, but if you think about it, you are actually now in your 44th year as birthdays celebrate the conclusion of the year (think 1st birthday), not the start. Still, since I turned 40 this year (or 41 if you use the above system), I am more than happy to wish you a grand 43rd birthday and leave it at that.

  6. The quote of the day on my google home page:

    “You can only be young once. But you can always be immature.”
    – Dave Barry

    Happy Birthday!

  7. Happy Birthday, you old fart! ;)

    Nowadays you are only as old as you look (NOT feel) and with those skirts you wear…well, it knocks of years from your age.

    Seriously though, Happy Birthday. Does this mean you will be having cake??

  8. yes, jen — my cleanse ended yesterday. leoney (our receptionist) brought in birthday cookies for me today!

  9. Dang, I’m only three years behind you but I hate to think that my old family portraits look like that! But since 40 is officially the new 20, we’ve got some good years agead of us!

  10. Marko – my wife just said “cute kid, what happened?”

    Really rough on me, because how do I defend you in that? “Hey hon, I still think he’s cute!” Sorry dude, I’m not going there, not even for you.

    Happy Birthday!

  15. happy birthday you old bugger

    may cubans rise to meet you as they did in my kitchen with the grizzled man all those years ago and then as the spit amde my neighbour throw just last year….i love ya man! x

  16. Happy Birthday to my baby brother!! (That means, of course, that I’m very very old!) oh well…
    i love you!
    love, lor

  19. hey! you made it another year! yeah rah!
    love the photo and congrats on the cleanse!
    you’re just getting better, not older….
    tell jeannie hey from me!
    miss you guys!
    enjoy the back yard and the hottub view on this your special day!
    blessings for a great year too! lil

  20. Hey Mark –
    Who cares about age…just remember the ‘inwardly we are being renewed day by day’ part.
    Love & blessings to you on your bday!
    Lis

  21. Happy Birthday, Marco!
    Absolutely LOVE your blog!

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