13 Things I Never Thought I’d Care About

Guys, getting old is weird. But, it’s also kind of hilarious. Like, who in their right mind gets excited these days going to bed before midnight, taking a multivitamin, or the possibility of selling most of what you own to buy the ever-elusive Vitamix? I do. We do. I am that person now. I go shopping for new sheets and towels because even though I have perfectly acceptable ones at home, there are softer ones out there that my skin needs.  There are bathmats that actually match each other than can actually fit under that tiny incomprehensible space between the bathroom door and the floor. There is vegan lipstick now! VEGAN! I’m not vegan, but I feel like that would be super good for me and the planet. right?

Anyway, getting older doesn’t have to be lame, though I often find myself reminiscing over things I’m pretty sure my 20-something self never thought my 30-something self would give two shits about.  These are just a few of the things that come to mind when I think about my youth and my general attitude of not caring about more than volleyball practice and what new Ben and Jerry’s flavor just got released. I feel like this will be an ongoing thing, so here is the first installment:

13 Things I never thought I would care about…

1- Getting 10,000 steps in a day.

Apparently, 1000 steps a day is the opposite of good for you. Sitting is the new smoking, or whatever. During my last job, I racked up an average of 600 a day. No, that’s not missing a zero, that is six hundred. I may as well have worked from my bed. As a former athlete who never had to think twice about scheduling activity, I can tell you right now my body HATES sitting still.

2- Having a small group of friends.

Even though I was always part of a team or a group of special people (like at a summer camp), as I grew up, I realized that while we liked the same stuff, we weren’t really friends. Which is fine — I’m an introvert so big gatherings completely wipe me out, and I much prefer solo time with my people. There was a time I thought my bridal party would be one or two people. Which again, is totally fine. Luckily, I made close friends as an adult. Pretty excited to say it was four (fist pump).

3- Being a Mom.

Ask any of my friends — I never really thought about being a mom, or how that would work into my life. I wasn’t set on it until I met my husband.

4- Not being a mom.

Being married with no kids is a special kind of lifestyle, lol.  But, 30-something comes real quick. And with it comes the same line from everyone from your dental hygienist to a doctor at a walk-in clinic you saw one time for five minutes, to your mom’s friend whose name you never remember: “Oh, you better hurry up with that.”  Please, people I don’t know very well on a personal level who feel the need to give me advice about my body, mind your own business. We’ll get there when we get there.

5- Not being an athlete.

My body hurts all the time, for no reason. At least I knew why I was hurting in the past… squats, deadlines, a 5-set volleyball match where I basically just did sprint intervals for two hours.  Now, I can’t (choose not to) play any of the sports I used to because my knees will scream for days.  But, golf is a sport, right? (Kidding, I totally play golf now.)

6- Having a partner you can trust.

Like, really, really trust.  No further explanation needed here.

7- A king size bed.

AKA the relationship extender.  My husband will joke that our King bed saved our relationship, which is mostly a joke about what a bed creeper I am. I like a bit of contact, and he likes to pretend he’s on the other side of the country that is our mattress. I don’t know how we managed to sleep on the double I had years ago, and then several years on a Queen which I thought was fine until the King. It was our first purchase together, and it is magical.

8- Really good sheets.

I’m all about that tencel or bamboo cotton. Buh-bye university Jersey Cotton.  I feel like this is one of those things that doesn’t really matter until you’re forced to buy your own. Waking up in a pool of sweat is not fun when you buy the discount un-breathable sheets. Also, having sheets that properly fit your bed is kind of a big deal.  I had one pair of sheets in college that were full size and I used them on singles, doubles and stretched out onto a Queen until they ripped, lol.

9- Vitamins and healthy green shit.

Another thing you don’t realize until you get older is how much eating healthy costs, and how much your body really wants to eat healthy.  It is screaming at you to be nice to it, and feed it food that has real rainbow colors and doesn’t come from a box or the frozen food aisle. My body now specifically craves sublingual B12 and romaine lettuce. I notice a huge difference when I don’t eat well enough to cover my vitamin needs, and if I don’t take my certain supplements (Iron, B12, D3, CalMag) my body turns into a hangry, bitchy teenager. It’s kind of awkward.

10- A winter coat that covers my bum.

Once you cover the crack, you never go back. (That’s not really a thing…) But honestly, how did I survive before this?!?! If you live in a place that has winter, I strongly believe that you just don’t get used to it over time, you actually grow weaker and more susceptible to the cold. Like, I live in Canada, it snows here. It’s in the negatives usually for an entire month or two. You’d think I’d be ready. I’m not. I never am.  I bought my first real snow boots and long coat 2 years ago. The first time I put on waterproof boots and a jacket you could wear outside up to -30 degrees, I thought to myself, “What is this witchcraft???”

11- Getting a good night’s sleep.

I think when you’re younger you know you need sleep, but you laugh in the face of sleep and say, “Eff you, sleep. I’ll catch up on you this weekend when I stay in bed for 24 hrs straight and be totally normal on Monday for school/work/whatever.”  Ah, the good old days.  Now, If I don’t get enough sleep I feel hung over, irritable, hungry, catty, sad, and generally inefficient at everything I do.  And that’s without kids.

12- How my Instagram photos look.

Remember when we used to take photos for fun, pre-flay lay, without editing? LOL.

13- Wine.

Me at 20: “This is like rotten garbage, why would I ever want to drink this??”

Me at 30-something:

What about you? Anything that you wouldn’t have given a second thought to as a teen or unwise young adult? Share with me in the comments!

Like what you read? Want some more? Check out: 7 Reasons I hated Wedding Dress Shopping

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