Not So Funny Now, Is It?

Yesterday I stopped by the local Walmart for some groceries and a bag of Timothy Hay (for my pet bunny of course) and I overheard part of a conversation that made me laugh. I was up near the front of the store and passed by a small group of employees all huddled together talking. There were a couple of women who were probably in their 40's, one who seemed to be a bit younger at around 30, and a gentleman who was roughly late 30's. As I walked by, I overheard the sentence "I've heard from several people that Farm Town is better than Farmville." I actually snickered out loud. OMFG, these "middle-aged" people at Walmart are standing around having a discussion about Facebook games. It made me laugh for two reasons. One being, my friends and I have had this same silly discussion and we prefer Farmville... these Walmart idiots are wrong. The second reason I laughed is because working in the IT industry you can't help but realize that the older someone is, the less likely they are to stay on top of the newest trends in technology. Add that to the fact we live in a rural type area and you can sort of understand why it caught me by surprise to realize what these people were talking about.

It cracked me up so much that I immediately texted my brother, who also works in the IT industry, something along the lines of "ha ha, just passed a group of middle-aged people standing around in Walmart discussing which is better - Farm Town or Farmville." He texted back "lol" and I carried on with my shopping trip. But suddenly a few minutes later, it hit me... wait a minute, I'm middle-aged. I will be 39 in less than 2 months. OMG, I'm getting old and my mind refuses to realize it. Now I suddenly feel bad for laughing at these guys. They are probably around the same age as me. And I'm a Facebook addict who plays the same silly games they were talking about. (I play Mafia Wars too, but I digress). I have even nerdier discussions than this one with my friends. It makes me wonder what the younger people I work with think of me.

And the whole thing has taught me a lesson: The next time I tell a story about anyone who is over 35, I will no longer use the word "middle-aged" to describe them. Instead I will say "older" so it won't appear as though I'm making fun of people who are basically my age.