Did you
know the Japanese have a coming-of-age holiday? So, every year, the second
Monday of January is a national
holiday to celebrate people who have crossed the age of 20 over the past year.
Congratulations,
you are an adult! Eat, drink, and be merry! Of course, adult or not, it’s a
fucking national holiday on a long weekend! What life!
But
Japanese or not, they’ll all tell you age is just a number. It isn’t. It
changes you, and you don’t even realize it. I didn’t, until recently.
A grey hair
here, a crease there, and a wrinkle out of nowhere, there are enough and more signs
of ageing. But the most telling aren’t these overt outbursts. They are subtler.
I no longer look at myself in the mirror counting another grey hair. What I do
notice is that frown on my forehead.
A line that
keeps getting deeper trying to fix things that aren’t quite right. Even the
small, negligible nothings.
The other
day S and I were out for lunch and he spilled some salt on the table and I took
a tissue out to wipe it. And then I put the salt, the pepper and some cutlery
in an order, like they were all getting ready to go on stage to give a
performance. Once I was satisfied, I then adjusted my kurta, got up, sat down,
cleaned the chair. This exercise took about five minutes.
Astonished,
and exasperated, he said: “Is it possible for you to just relax? Why does everything
have to be perfect?”
The thing
is, I didn’t think this was a big deal. But he told me, off late, I have become
this person trying to do everything properly, in order, at work and otherwise.
Over and over again, without actually realizing it. “You have become super
finicky.” He finally said those dreaded words that really made me think.
I have to
admit, I was a little taken aback. I never considered myself finicky, I always
thought I was very adaptable.
Today, I
can’t stand loud music or loud anything. It actually visibly makes me angry.
Mediocrity in writing, reporting, in the movies, in music, in everyday
products, in ideas, thoughts, actions just appalls me. There’s this obvious
disregard for quality and the numerous short cuts to just finish the damn job
that get my goat.
I am
dismissive of outdated ideas even more than I was before. A few years ago, if I
disagreed with you I would just tell you and end the conversation to avoid
confrontation. And will probably never bring it up again. Or sometimes say
nothing depending on who you are, someone much older, my boss or my best
friend. Now, I vehemently disagree with you, no matter who you are.
It’s
important to say what you really feel. Your time is important, and you have to
be more judicious about how, with whom, and on what you spend it.
I think a
lot of that has got to do with age. As you grow older, I feel, you’d want to
spend your time doing more meaningful things. I know now that “whatever you
want” isn’t making me happy.
I am less
tolerant of people and things. I—would like to—put myself first. Do these other people care about me as much as I
care about them? They don’t, and they get by.
Also, I am
beginning to look back at life with a lot more fondness than I used to when I
had just a few number of years crossed out on the calendar.
I hope, in
this whole coming-of-age drama, I don’t reduce myself to some bitter, old
cranky bitch, who no longer likes the way the calendar has been crossed.
PS: I am not PMS-ing.