Older and Wiser???

I have been thinking a bit lately about how age is just a number.  Sure, the higher the age, the longer you've been on the earth, but I think it's our experiences that make us "older".  OK, so that may not have made a lot of sense, let me give you the background on why I'm feeling that way.

Right now I am in the process of applying for a substitute teacher position within the school system that the boys are in.  Part of the application process is to submit 3 references.  Well since I've been a stay-at-home mom for nearly 10 years now, I feel kind of silly asking for references from former employers.  So I began looking a little closer at my interactions with people.  I concluded with my cohort in Cub Scouts, one of my downline with Scentsy and then my favorite high school teacher, Carol.  (I guess I'm old enough now that I can call her by her first name!)

I'm sure you're thinking that if I felt silly about asking former employers for references since it's been 10 years then I should feel crazy about calling up an old high school teacher.  Maybe ordinarily I would have felt that way, but I've stayed in contact with this teacher all these years.

Part of the reference form asks how long you have known the applicant.  So dear Carol gave me a call and asked how long we really have known each other.  I had to clear out some cobwebs and think back to the first time I entered her classroom.  That was Sophomore English --- just a few years ago!  In fact, it was back in 1992.  Then I started doing the math --- we've known each other for 18 years!  Wow!

I love Carol and we've had a good relationship that began back in the fall of '92.  I admit that her class wasn't the easiest because it was a literature class.  I have to say that I'm not a huge fan of the classics, but I made it through.  My Senior year I had a free period that allowed me to be her assistant.  I also drove her son to swim practice and then home for a couple of years.  And guess who wrote my recommendation letter for college?  You bet!  It was Carol.  And we can't forget when Jake and I got married...  Carol and Fred attended our reception.  In the years since, we have become friends on Facebook, followed each others' blogs and sent Christmas cards to each other.

After hearing that little history, many would probably say that we're old because we've been friends for 18 years.  Well, Carol is now enjoying the retired life and I have 3 children, my oldest nearly 10.  Yes, our ages have increased and years have passed but that's not what makes us old.  It's the experiences that we've had in those years.  The things we've shared, the things we've accomplished, the highs and lows.  The nitty gritty is what makes us old, not our age.  And as time rolls on and we experience more and more, we become wiser and more seasoned.   So thank goodness for our experiences that keep us on our toes and create memories so that when we look back and we start to feel old, we also feel fulfilled.