I gotta tell you…this has not been my finest week. I started out on Monday feeling like a spry twenty-five year old and by Friday, I now feel like I should be applying for my AARP card. I didn’t do anything to change during the week. I was just reminded of my actual age a few more times than I would have preferred.

It all began when I was mowing my yard on Tuesday. A friend of mine drove by, stopped, and proceeded to inform me that I was too old to be wearing a baseball cap turned backwards. Keep in mind, I was also wearing a tank top and Daisy Duke cut-off jean shorts, but this is what he chose to call to my attention. He told me it made me look pompous. Okay…maybe I can see his point. I turned my cap the right way and he drove off happy. As soon as he turned the corner, I immediately turned it backwards again. Score one for me!

On Wednesday, I was at a function and folks at my table were sharing pictures of their children, especially around this time of year when so many are graduating, either from elementary, middle, high school, or even college. I was no exception. I passed my phone around with the rest of them to show off my kids. As one young lady handed my phone back to me, she noticed I had the Snap Chat app displayed on the screen. “Aren’t you a little old to have Snap Chat?” she asked, a bit indignantly. “I use it to stay in touch with my nieces,” I replied. She didn’t respond, but the look on her face seemed to say ‘I’m not buying that flimsy excuse’.

The icing on the cake came on Thursday as I was shopping at a men’s clothing store in town. I came across some knit ties. Knit ties! I hadn’t seen these since the 80s. I always knew they’d make a comeback. I just didn’t know when. I was so excited as I perused the different colors and designs, deciding which ones and how many I was going to purchase. A sales clerk approached me and could see just how thrilled I was about the prospect of owning seven or eight of these jewels. The first words out of her mouth to me were, “These are great ties. They’re very popular with the younger crowd.” Ouch! She might as well have offered me an early bird dinner special while she was at it. But the message was received, as it had been for the last two days…I’m too old to pull this off.

For a while, I was depressed. Are my best days really behind me? Have I crossed that invisible line from cool young stud to creepy middle-aged guy? Have my odds of causing a severe back injury from simply sneezing increased exponentially? When did all this happen and why didn’t I recognize it?

Then anger set in. Why was I feeling old? The answer was because others had told me that I was. I’m too old to wear my baseball cap backwards. Snap Chat is for a younger generation. And knit ties don’t go well with my receding hairline. After much thought and deliberation, I have come to a conclusion about these opinions…Who Cares?

Really…who cares? We live in a society today where whatever we do, it seems our actions divide others into two camps. Those that are for what you do and those that oppose it. One of my favorite Eleanor Roosevelt quotes is where she states, “Do what you feel in your heart to be right – for you’ll be criticized anyway.” It’s a sad but true reflection of the world we live in today.

I once heard a pastor say, “Live each day of your life as if you had no idea of your age.” Let that one sink in for a moment. If you didn’t know how old you were, would that change the way you live your life? Would you take more time to enjoy what’s around you? Would you be so serious? Would you care about was other people think as much?

Our lives don’t have to become more somber as we grow older. Sure, our responsibilities grow. We have careers and families and mortgages and 401Ks and hundreds of other meaningful aspects of our lives that require our attention. But never at the cost of becoming jaded and cynical. We all have accountabilities in life. We all have a purpose in life. But in addition to that, life is meant to be lived. To be enjoyed. To be loved.

Despite the fact that I’m fighting a losing battle with gray hair, especially my sideburns (I’ve actually started shaving them so high to do away with the gray, that I’m starting to look like an 80s skate rat), I choose to live the young life. I’ll take my responsibilities and obligations seriously…but never myself.

Don’t be defined by your age. Be known by your actions. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go turn my cap around and Snap Chat with my nieces.