At this very moment, I am 32 years, six months, 24 days and seven minutes old. To most people, I am still young, I have many “good years” ahead of me – and I have a full decade before I reach middle age…so why do I feel so old?

Lately, I have noticed certain behaviors and actions of mine that have made me feel maybe not old – but older. For instance, Woody and I were in his apartment and some kids were hanging out in front of the store below us. After hearing them laugh and yell for a little while – I leaned my head out the window and chased the kids away. I remember when I got pissed at the stupid old guy who didn’t want us “damn kids” around – and now I am that stupid old guy.

Another instance that instantly aged me was when I was at my sister’s house to see my cousins who came in from Arizona last week. When it was time to eat, I went into the basement to tell the kids who were watching Crossroads starring Britney Spears that it was time to eat. When I knocked and opened the door – all six children, ranging in age from ten to 15 – looked at me as they would a girl if she entered a room that had a “NO GIRLS ALLOWED” sign on the door.

Besides recent events that subconsciously age me, I am finding that when I recall certain chapters of my life – they seem like ancient history. I noticed this twice today, once when I passed my old Brooklyn Baron office window where I worked in 1996 and 1997 – and again when I was on Montague Street where the offices of the Brooklyn Eagle were when I worked for them in 1997 and 1998. Each time I saw the windows that once housed my desks as both an Editor-in-Chief and an Assistant Publisher – I felt like the time I spent there either took place decades ago – or never took place at all. In fact, when I think about times of my life such as High School, sleep away camp or my Internship at WPLJ – I have an easy time remembering all that I experienced – but a hard time believing that I lived through them.

I am not saying that I am ready for an old age home or anything like that. I am just saying that time is relentless, and we age each and every single day. And while I am certain that there are fewer days behind than there are ahead for me – I am starting to realize that I have passed the stage of “growing up” – and will soon begin the stage of “growing old.” But no matter my age, I will always be young at heart and eager to live life to the fullest…

…until the day I stop “growing.”