Beard of "experience"

Antara and I gaze at our reflections in the mirror. I realize that the whites of her eyes are a pristine white with not a blood vessel in sight – good! But what surprises me is the sight of my own eyes. The whites are really “Off whites”, distinctly so, and remind me of my childhood. My father and I did very much the same thing – gaze at our reflections. I remember proudly telling him – “Appa, my eyes are nice and white. Why are yours so yellow and tired? Why don’t you use some toothpaste?” Hmmm, the tide has turned…

I am nearing a very significant age. Soon I will not be able to check the box that says "25-29 years". I near the feared 3-0. Symbolic representation of the end of childhood and the start of maturity??? WTF - are you sure you want to give ME this certificate??

We recently had some close friends over for Christmas dinner. The last significant vacation we took with them was a brilliant road-trip around Brittany & Normandy. We were 4 folks out on the road, gulping wine by the liter, enjoying crepes and making plans at the flip of a coin. This time around, they brought their 10 month old daughter to meet us. We had a 5 month old and a 10 month old dictate tempo all evening. Another sign of age?

Well, interestingly, we still managed to polish of a bottle of Sula Chenin Blanc. We had a great time. Also the night before had 25 people partying hard in our living room, while Pebbles snored it up in our bedroom. Margaritas, mulled wine, baked veggies, hummus & pita, pasta salad...yum! A great time and a lot of drunk people.

I guess I have found that life continues and even peaks in the 30s. You see, I can now afford many luxuries I couldn't at 20 or 25. I also live completely on my terms. As for childhood, I spend every morning and night singing "Old King Cole" and "Teddy Bear Picnic". That childhood enough for ya?

I tell M that I will hit my absolute peak sometime in the coming decade, and my gym-battered body would tend to agree. An interesting job, the best "work-life balance" i have enjoyed in my career so far, a strong marriage, a delightful baby, it seems I have all the big check boxes semi-ticked (never jinx it by saying "ticked").

I seem to be partying as hard as I can remember (not counting the ridiculous year at INSEAD of course), and with a mix of friends from abroad and dudes/dudettes in town, the parties are so much more fun these days.

Oh - and another thing - age does not kill wanderlust. I still ache to get my passport stamped in a country where they barely speak english. But I have promised M that our next trip has to be deeper exploration of L'Inde.

A friend recently asked me - Whats with this beard you have these days?
My answer - Just trying to look my age.

One things for sure - the babyfaced casanova ain't so much a baby any more.