I'm not in my 20s anymore

I had the opportunity to accompany a friend on a ride to down town the other night and it was eye opening. First, we didn't leave the house until after 10:30 pm which on any other occasion would have never happened. Heck, I'd usually be sawing logs by 10:30 at night! But she needed to pick up her kid at midnight and she didn't know where she was going so I offered to go with her.

We decided to hit a pub that was close to our final destination to while away the time until midnight. As we entered, the first thing I noticed was how loud the pub was. I had to shout to my friend so she could hear me. I know bars can be loud but this place seemed deafening to me. The second thing I noticed was that we were a good 20 years older than anyone else in the whole place. Now, it doesn't bother me because I think I'm cool, and I don't realize that I'm 49 but I have to admit that I sat up a little straighter and sucked in my gut a little more than normal.

We got our drinks and were enjoying watching all of the boy/girl bar drama that was going on when a guy started chatting with us. Considering that he could have been my son, I was a bit tickled that he even spoke to us. He asked me if I visited that particular bar very often and I lied and told him that I went there at least once a week. He asked if we went to any of the other bars that were close by and I pointed in a vague direction and told him that we hung out at "that bar" also. He was so cute and he seemed to fall for my lie hook line and sinker. (How many 20-somethings even use the phrase "hook line and sinker?")

We stayed a little bit longer then had to leave to pick up the kid. We got a good laugh at how out of place we looked in that bar. We didn't have on platform heels or mini skirts, we weren't dressed in the latest fashions, we had a few wrinkles on our faces that no one else had and we weren't cruising for a hook up. But you know what the best part was? We didn't care. We didn't care if we were dressed in the perfect outfit. We didn't care that we weren't attracting multiple potential suitors. We didn't care that we didn't recognize the music that was playing. We didn't care! We were just out to have a beer and pass the time. And that made it one of the most enjoyable bar experiences that I've had in a long time.

I've heard lots of people say that things get better as you age and I believe them. It was nice not to stress over how I looked. Or to stress because I wasn't attracting any guys. I was easy peasy greasy, just enjoying my Guinness and hanging with my gal pal.