flemmings | (no subject)

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rl_06

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I was counting on my fingers, and unable to remember whether the 15th was a Friday or a Saturday; but it was a Friday and today is the 19th and hence

nojojojo's birthday. Then I read her lj entry. Turns out she's a scant 34. Oh-go-away. And come back next year. These days the 20's are no more than the end of adolescence and life *begins* at 35.

(Takes aching middle-aged self off to bed. At 9 flipping 30. And uses winter icon to reinforce the point.)

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Most of the places which make me feel old are on the 'Net (where you don't need to be 18 or above to own an LJ account, yes). Reading about 14-year old Go players fails to irritate me the way the wankeries of online teenaged and so-optimistic 20-something bloggers do (everything seems possible before 25, why?) I know there are lots of old-timers around the 'Net, but there simply seems to be more of Them I than Them II.... ('Us' refers to 34-year olds =P)

Here in Retirement Land 40-year olds are Junior, and those in their 50s are always happily discussing their next caravan trip whenever they are not on the way to somewhere else.

I only feel really old in the morning when I creak out of bed. You know I went to bed at 1 am last night, not 9:30.

How odd. In my day people moaned through their 20s and had crises at every birthday and then came out into the clear blue waters of their 30s and suddenly started to enjoy life. But then my generation was given to having its first kids at 42, which is not really recommended.

I'm so far removed from the teenies that they elicit only a fond reminiscent smile. Optimistic 20-somethings ditto, if I knew more than two. Whiny bitchy arrogant entitled mannerless 20-somethings make me wish my generation had been sterilized.

There seems to be more of Them I because they have more time to natter online, obviously. ^_^ The majority of mid-30s probably has kids and jobs and just wants a few hours sleep. As for the caravaning 50-somethings, see, that's what I *thought* it would be like. Somehow I had the impression that you ache less after 50. Evidently this is only true in Oz. Or possibly 50-somethings weren't meant to still be carrying babies on their hips.

I'm one month short of 50 and I think I am the happiest I have ever been. Yes, my knees hurt in the morning and sometimes they don't want to go up and down the stairs the first few times, but I'm working at a job I love (two actually); I chase after 17 four year-olds in a nursery school in the morning (Seeing the world through the eyes of a 4 year old keeps you young at heart and thrilled by the wonder and joy of life.), and serve coffee (and many other Starbucks style drinks) in the afternoon at a Barnes and Noble cafe. Three of my kids are out of the house, and my *baby* (he's 15) thinks I'm weird because I like playing RPGs, I write fanfiction and I like reading (watching) YAOI. Life is good and I have way too many fun things to do in the small amount of free time I have. I don't think I will ever be a caravaning 50-ish year old, I chose the wrong profession to afford an early retirement but it does sound like a nice way to spend ones time, as long as there would be an internet connection and the ability to download. (Naw, I'm not addicted, no, not me, never.) I enjoy chatting with the people I do, even though MANY of them are young enough to be my kids, but it is always nice to meet people a little older too.
I went to bed at 1 am last night too, after waking up on the couch, after falling asleep watching Eureka on the SciFi channel at 9:15. It happens all the time, but then I do get up at 5 am...

Now my knees didn't start to hurt until 54, for which I'm grateful, given how much earlier it can start, and annoyed, given that I believed it wouldn't happen till my 70's.

4 year olds? Hah. I don't look at them after they turn three, to their mothers' stunned disbelief. 'But you liked him last year--!' 'Last year he didn't talk and I could keep up with him.' Nah, babies for me, before they think they can reason and before they've learned toilet-based guerilla resistance tactics. (Of course the current pair of 15 month olds have pooed in the bath on consecutive evenings. Must be precocious.)

I picked the wrong profession for a whole bunch of things including sleep patterns. Up at 5 am? The horror, the horror.

Infants? Oh my. I used to work in a daycare center and the ONLY rooms I refused to work in were the infants and 18 month olds. *shudder* Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love these ages one on one, but there were 4 infants to each care-giver and 6 toddlers to each teacher. Too many children at once to give all the hugs and attention they need. It's funny, I really love the fours BECAUSE they can be obstinate and inquisitive and verbal and exciting and so full of interest in the world around them. AND most of them are fully toilet-trained and no longer even need help wiping. Some days you can almost stand back and watch them do practically everything by themselves.

Luckily for me, my knees only bother me in the mornings when I first get us since I spend so much of my day on my knees or squatting down. I cannot, however, cross my legs the way the kids can when we sit in circle.

I get up at 5 am because my husband has an hour commute and has to leave before 6 to beat most of the traffic. It gives us time to have coffee together, something we have done almost every morning during the 28 years we have been married. My hour commute starts at 7:30 am.

Your centre's ratios were flat unworkable. Our governmentally mandated ratios are 3:1 and 5:1 and they're borderline unworkable. If there's only one staff, they're impossible. No, I wouldn't work under those conditions either. One teething baby would ruin the whole day.

As it is, the one area I've consistently refused to work in is the pre-schoolers, though in the event (summer staff shortage led to my appearance in Big Kids and the total amazement of the world) the junior guys are still fun enough. 4s and 5s, no. They never shut up. Babies and toddlers are quiet when they eat, at least, but pre-schoolers? The walls ring.

I've always been flexible and can still sit tailor-fashion, but ohh the getting up and down. The getting up and down with a baby asleep in my arms is now flat undoable. Sadness.

I've had hour commutes in the city (by trnsit) and thought myself hard done by. 'Them's Tokyo commutes!' Is one reason why I live in the downtown of a city. Trashes the lungs but I can bike most places I'm going and transit the rest and I never need to drive at all.

True, the 4's and 5's never shut up but the thing I hated most was trying to get 16 4 year olds lying down and asleep for nap. I also worked one year in the Private Kindergarten class that our center had. I loved it... and hated it. The teacher was wonderful and I loved many of the kids and the program, but it is also the reason I left. I was punched and hit and swore at and spit on and scratched by the children and had so little support from the owner that I gave notice. She had wanted to put me back in the 4's but having to deal naps again just wasn't workable. I decided to try something completely different and put in an application to Barnes and Noble and ended up working in the cafe. I was miserable at times, the job was WAY outside of my comfort zone (The only other job I've had, besides working with children, was in a factory making stereo needles 28 years ago.). I've finally gotten really good at it and I can say I have successfully conquered my mid-life crisis. In Sept. I started back in a Nursery School working with the fours. There are 3 of us for 17 children. I've worked here before and they treat the teachers well, the parents do all the cleaning and we follow the public school calender, so though they are unpaid, I will have days off without feeling like I am letting my co-workers down. I still work in the cafe (I can't stand to give up my employee discount, not with the amount of books and manga I read.) so during the summer, when the nursery school is closed, I will still have a job.

I used to work in our Big Kids program in the DayCare center. It wasn't really too bad. They came in and had snack and then started their homework. Yes, the boys could be very physical and the girls catty, but they could and would listen to reason and when I told them to get a book and sit calmly for a few minutes, most of them would listen, which was a good thing because the ratio for the class was 15 to 1. I would NEVER work in Big Kids for a full day during the summer. There just isn't enough variety to keep them happy and busy.

The noise level WAS a problem and my hearing did suffer, but then I traded in the children's noise for a cappuccino machine and a humming oven, so I seem to go for loud jobs.

If I had to rely on public transportation, I would never get to work. I live 20 minutes from the main bus line, there are no local buses and taxis are too expensive. When I worked at the DayCare center my car died and I was able to bike to work, 3.5 miles. It only took me 35 minutes to get there, a lovely almost all downhill ride, but coming home was really rough, mostly uphill and 1 hour 15 minutes. At the end of a summer day it was very tiring and impossible to do in the winter. Even though my commute now is almost an hour, since I drive myself, I can do errands on the way there or on the way home. Also, I wouldn't give up the ability to look out my window and see lots of trees and hear the birds. As long as I have a car I have the best of both worlds, a relaxing, almost country area and a medium drive to the 4th largest mall in the US. Perfection. (Sorry for the book reply, I'm in a chatty mood.)

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