June 11, 2009

SEVEN YEARS

My husband has a summer birthday, so he was always the youngest in his class.  That also has made him the youngest in his year group in the Army, so he has always been the baby of the group.  At OBC, a prior-enlisted guardsman flipped out when he learned my husband was born in 1980: "I was pickin' up chicks in my Trans Am in 1980!"

But he's started to realize that he's been in the Army for seven years now.  And suddenly, he's older than most of the NCOs he works with.  He's not the baby anymore.

I took his team a homemade lunch today, and they gushed and thanked me and called me Mrs. and Ma'am.  And I realized that I'm no spring chick either: I am nine years older than the medic on his team.  I must seem like such an old lady to him.

On Monday, my husband and I have our seventh wedding anniversary.  We've known each other for almost ten years.

It feels good to be a grown up.  But it took me by surprise today.

Posted by: Sarah at 03:38 PM | Comments (8) | Add Comment
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1 It could be worse...
Most of my students (College Juniors) were between 1 and 3 when I graduated high school, some weren't even born when I enlisted.

None of them saw Top Gun, or Full Metal Jacket in theaters, many had never seen it.

They were too young to see Saving Private Ryan in theaters, or rent it without a parent when it came out--on VHS.

The oldest ones weren't in Kindergarden during gulf 1.

None are old enough to remember Ronald Reagan, most don't Remember George H. W. Bush.

Now I feel old.

Posted by: Chuck at June 11, 2009 05:15 PM (meX2d)

2 Happy Anniversary!! Best wishes for another 7 years!!

Posted by: Butterfly Wife at June 11, 2009 08:23 PM (YQ3jz)

3 I still sometimes realizing how old I am, too.  I am still single, and have no children.  However, friends I went to high school with are starting to have children graduate high school and send them off to college.  I have a new acquaintance out at the ballpark - a police officer who enlisted in the Marine Corps after high school (9/11 his senior year helped him decide between that and an athletic scholarship to a West Texas A&M) and served in Iraq - in Fallujah, during the April & November offensives - and I have to remind myself that although he is an responsible adult now, he's about 13 years younger than me.  I have been out of high school for 21 years now.  I've been out of college for 17.  There are many things that, when I was younger, I thought I had plenty of time to do: have a career, get married, have children, travel.  I've had a career, one that allowed me some small amount of travel around the US, and I went to my cousin's wedding in Alaska 5 years ago, but I can't help but think I'm running out of time for the other things.  Yeah, I still have time to meet "Mr. Right" and get married, but I can't help but think that it might not be soon enough to try to have those children I always expected to have...  And I feel old sometimes...

Posted by: Miss Ladybug at June 11, 2009 11:48 PM (paOhf)

4 Welcome to the grown up world.  You are well on your way to your 50th. I remember our tenth seemed only a few years ago, yet it was 41 years ago. We celebrated our 51st on May 24th.

Posted by: Ruth H at June 12, 2009 08:28 AM (4u82p)

5 We were having a conversation with family about Sweetie's (Sig's) work, and referred to his office helper – who is a PFC – as a "kid".  His parents, aunt, older brother, and sister-in-law all kind of chuckled.  You know, like it's funny we use the term "kid" when WE're still the kids.

But we reminded them that we're both over 30 now, and Sweetie's a little above sergeant (though a rather young sergeant), and that actually makes us pretty senior to anyone with "Private" before their name.

In fact, when Sweetie joined up six (six!) years ago, we were still pretty senior at 25.   My best friends at DLI were all younger than me by several years.

Now, my youngest brother is turning 26 and Sweetie's youngest brother, who is 25, just became a lieutenant.  Kids I babysat are graduating college and getting married.

Funny how time flies.

Posted by: Deltasierra at June 12, 2009 03:23 PM (ekWzF)

6 I was ten and a half when my oldest sister was born.  She's getting married this November at the age of 28.  I was a freshman in high school when my youngest sister was born.  She's out of college and all out on her own now.  I remember changing both their diapers...

Posted by: Miss Ladybug at June 13, 2009 01:01 AM (paOhf)

7 I also realized (or perhaps re-realized) that my company commander is younger than me.

On the other hand, being a Guard unit, we've got people who've been with us for decades.  One crusty SFC reminisced over the idiot butter bar in charge of his platoon (when he was a platoon sergeant); the idiot in question is now the battalion commander.

Sig

Posted by: Sig at June 13, 2009 03:41 PM (ekWzF)

8 I think I'm about the same age as Chuck Z.

In grad school, I was the kid, the youngest.

As a professor, I wondered if some of the younger students had a hard time taking me seriously because of my apparent age.

At work, I am still the kid, at least in my section. Hardly anyone's younger.

Yet I know I'm getting old. I recognize very few TV and music references after the 80s.

Sarah, you seem relatively 'with it' ... certainly more than I am.

I've known you since shortly after your first wedding anniversary. I can still remember thinking of you as newlyweds. And the neat thing is that when I met you two last month, you were still like newlyweds in paradise! I think you'll always be that way.

Posted by: Amritas at June 16, 2009 01:03 PM (/IwHi)

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