You Know You're Getting Old When...

I cannot even imagine where I would be today were it not for that handful of friends who have given me a heart full of joy. Let's face it, friends make life a lot more fun.

Charles R. Swindoll

Greetings Friends!

That's what this post is all about...friends and growing old. I'm so thankful for all the friends that God has given me. Since moving away from my family, I've come to realize how vital a role my friends play in my life. I have a handful of core friends here in China that make living here possible. No, I haven't forgotten all my dear friends and loved ones back in Chicago that love me, pray for me, and support me, but having a core group here with me is essential. These last few weeks I've been thinking a lot about home and I have to admit, I'm a little homesick for Chicago. Don't misunderstand me, I LOVE what I do, I love the kids and friends that I work with and I wouldn't trade where I'm at or what I'm doing for anything. I have a rewarding job doing what I love to do - how many people my age can say that? All that being said, there is still a part of me that misses my home in the U.S. and mostly my parents, siblings and little nieces and nephews. Since the birth of my newest nephew earlier this month, it's been quite difficult to push away the desire to be home. The people that have helped to curve and distract me from this homesickness are my dear friends and co-workers here at SFCV. We have an awesome team and they know exactly how to cheer me up and keep me going.

As Ralph Waldo Emmerson once said, "It is one of the blessings of old friends that you can afford to be stupid with them." I know I've only been in China for 7 months (wow, that was fast!) but I feel like I've known these people for years and I feel so comfortable just being my weird self when I'm with them (haha!). One of my favorite things we do here is girl's night. It's not a scheduled event or weekly occurrence, it usually just happens wether it's a random trip to Decathlon, bike rides to the night market or weekend getaways, Joanna, Lily and I know it's going to be a good time! In fact, last weekend the 3 of us just had our very first girls weekend in Tianjin. 

To say that we had a blast is an understatement! The weekend was filled with boat rides, ferris wheels, river walks, Italian style towns, exploration, good food, beautiful scenery, epic weirdness, inside jokes, deep conversations, and of course, good friends! So much fun! I love these ladies, I'm so grateful for their friendship. I think the more we hang out together, the more we realize how quickly time is passing by and how old we're getting. I know, I know what you're thinking, 

"Naomi, you're not old! You're so young! You're only 23 - you still have your whole life ahead of you!" If you had that thought, that is the common reaction and answer I get when I tell people that I feel old. To be honest, I couldn't agree with you more. I know I'm young but sometimes ya can't help feeling old. I say all this because with the help of my friends, I've started to make a list of things that have proven to me that I'm getting old...here are few, Enjoy! 



#3: You know you're getting old when...you graduate college and have to enter the real world.
#5: You know you're getting old when...you move out of your parents house.
#6: You know you're getting old when...you realize how good you had it when you lived at home with your parents.
#8: You know you're getting old when...a perfect Friday/Saturday night consists of sitting on the couch in pajamas and watching TV(or movie) and eating popcorn.
#10: You know you're getting old when...you ask for cooking utensils for your birthday and Christmas.
#12: You know you're getting old when...you wake up at least one or more times a night to use the bathroom.
#15:You know you're getting old when...Girls weekend/girls night becomes a vital necessity in your life. (Ahhh Tianjin - take me back!)
#18: You know you're getting old when...you plan your weekend activities around vacuuming/cleaning your apartment.
#21: You know you're getting old when...you talk about not knowing a lot of foreigners in China and then complain about having to go to social events to meet other foreigners that live in China.
#22: You know you're getting old when...you start thinking of excuses for why you have to leave a social event before you even get to the event.
#27: You know you're getting old when...you go shopping at one store for 3 hours and afterwards you're totally exhausted.
#28:You know you're getting old when...you go to the mall with your friends and then you all collectively decided to go grocery shopping instead.
#29: You know you're getting old when...you go grocery shopping on your birthday and your most exciting purchases are donuts and/or dentistix for your dog. (for you Joanna, happy birthday! haha :)
#34: You know you're getting old when...you go shopping for decorative throw pillows.

#35

#35: You know you're getting old when...you make your bed every morning because you like the way your bed looks made up with decorative pillows.
#38:You know you're getting old when...you actually dream about taking naps.
#46: You know you're getting old when...you treat your dog like you would your own child.
#48: You know you're getting old when...you're in bed consistently at10:30pm every night of the week just because you're exhausted.
#50: You know you're getting old when...you set a financial budget and actually stick to it.
#53: You know you're getting old when...you wake up and within the first hour of being awake you've already started planning dinner.

#59

#58: You know you're getting old when...you own a good set of tupperware.
#59: You know you're getting old when... you spend a ridiculous amount of time perfectly initialing each piece of that tupperware, so everyone will always know who it belongs to.
#62: You know you're getting old when... you finally fully understand the saying, "Silence is Golden".
#64: You know you're getting old when...your staff members try and set you up on blind dates with their children. :|
#68:You know you're getting old when...you're out with friends and you keep checking the time to see if 9pm is an ok time to leave and go home to bed.
#71: You know you're getting old when...you make plans to sit and watch your favorite TV show/movie with friends and barely make it half way through before you have to stop for the night because you're just too tired to keep your eyes open another second.....and because it's 10:47pm.
#74:You know you're getting old when...you realize that being an adult is overrated. 
#75: You know you're getting old when...you make crazy lists of reasons explaining why and how you're getting old....merp.

If I'm being 100% honest with all of you....every SINGLE one of these applies to my life in some way or another... let's face it....we're all getting old and I'm totally ok with it. I've come to realize that getting old isn't a bad thing...like at.all! In fact, I'm enjoying it and so should all of you, no matter what year you were born! :)

Check out these awesome pics of me and my besties! 

 Decathlon Night....

     

  Girls weekend in Tianjin!