Quite a number of my friends have recently turned forty. Some celebrated, some just let it slip by quietly, and some were actually shy about turning forty. The shock of it though is that a few of those who were shy about it, were guys!! I mean what is the world turning to? Lol
I mean I've had cases of women who were my seniors in secondary school who have now convinced themselves and are trying to convince me that I am older than they are, (yes o) but never guys. Let's not even start with the Naija celebs who constantly LIE about their age. That one is a matter for another day.
So here I am excitedly planning towards mine - still a few years away, thank you very much! - with my friends who are same age as me. It has become some sort of project for me. I keep asking everyone how they celebrated, or intend to celebrate. Recently, I met up - separately - with two of my male friends who have just turned forty and
Showing posts with label 40. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 40. Show all posts
Friday, 21 September 2012
Wednesday, 9 February 2011
Sixty is the new Forty
I saw this phrase in a book recently and it got me thinking.
I look back at my childhood years with amazement. The conduct of mine and in fact most parents those days is so different to what is obtainable today. The same is true for the relationship between parents and children comparing those days to the present day. Parents were more feared than respected. Parents were like gods whereas they are now friends.
A simple example is birthday parties. When I was a child, children's parties were for CHILDREN. The parties in my household were in fact left to my mum and us, my dad was never present. We invited our friends who's mums dropped them off and came back at an agreed time to pick them up. All attention was on the children - making sure we had all the fun.
These days however, it is a very different scenario. It is a child's first birthday and all the friends and acquaintances of the parents are invited whether or not they have children to bring along. The ratio is probably 500 adults to 100 children! The parents have as much (maybe more) fun as the children. They dress up to the nines and come out and socialize with their friends.
Growing up, I never saw my dad wear anything but a formal suit or traditional outfits oh and of course for dress down days, the occasional French suit (remember them? I've never seen anything quite so funny!) And as for my mum, dressing down meant the traditional Iro and buba!
These days though, parents are so fly! They know all the 'in' things, the 'must haves'. They are up to date with fashion, music, technology, you name it.....they have fun with their kids. I attended a PTA meeting once in a Lagos secondary school and I remember thinking "hmmm....these mums sure look good!" There's no way you could find mums looking like that in my school's PTA.
I often find myself having to consciously calculate my age (lol) and constantly experience surprise at the result. A few of my friends also have admitted same. So is sixty really the new forty?
I look back at my childhood years with amazement. The conduct of mine and in fact most parents those days is so different to what is obtainable today. The same is true for the relationship between parents and children comparing those days to the present day. Parents were more feared than respected. Parents were like gods whereas they are now friends.
A simple example is birthday parties. When I was a child, children's parties were for CHILDREN. The parties in my household were in fact left to my mum and us, my dad was never present. We invited our friends who's mums dropped them off and came back at an agreed time to pick them up. All attention was on the children - making sure we had all the fun.
These days however, it is a very different scenario. It is a child's first birthday and all the friends and acquaintances of the parents are invited whether or not they have children to bring along. The ratio is probably 500 adults to 100 children! The parents have as much (maybe more) fun as the children. They dress up to the nines and come out and socialize with their friends.
Growing up, I never saw my dad wear anything but a formal suit or traditional outfits oh and of course for dress down days, the occasional French suit (remember them? I've never seen anything quite so funny!) And as for my mum, dressing down meant the traditional Iro and buba!
These days though, parents are so fly! They know all the 'in' things, the 'must haves'. They are up to date with fashion, music, technology, you name it.....they have fun with their kids. I attended a PTA meeting once in a Lagos secondary school and I remember thinking "hmmm....these mums sure look good!" There's no way you could find mums looking like that in my school's PTA.
I often find myself having to consciously calculate my age (lol) and constantly experience surprise at the result. A few of my friends also have admitted same. So is sixty really the new forty?
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