I found out the other day that a girlfriend of mine is turning 40 on Sunday and the whole idea of the taunt, “Over the Hill,” came to mind. Whose idea was that, anyway, I’d like to know! All the black décor and comparisons to death or something silly like this. I would like to tell whomever came up with this theme, “you’ve missed the mark!” I am coming to learn that aging is so cool. Seriously. If you think about it in terms of wealth of knowledge, experience and personal memories that are saved away, I feel like there is so much more to celebrate than make fun of! I was thinking about it at work last night and started coming up with some pretty special things that people in my same age bracket can say they remember and have experienced. This of course applies to any generation, but I choose my generation because, well, it’s the one I come from! (Generation X goes from late 1960s through late 1970s) Our kids today haven’t a clue about what they’ve missed! Let’s list, shall we?

1. Paying a dime at the pay phone.

2. Mix tapes.

3. No seat belt laws.

4. Air Supply.

5. Rotary Telephones-How long was the cord on yours?

6. No TV remote. I remember my dad standing endlessly it seemed, at the TV, manually changing the dial on one of two knobs, but the top knob had to be set on “U” I think. How about those rabbit ear antennae’

7. First computers. There were two in my second grade class, but I don’t remember using them.

8. VCRs

9. No bike helmet law.

10. The Love Boat (Ooh! I could go on about TV shows from that era…but that will have to be for another day!).

Not only those few material things do I remember, but also major events in history that we were young enough to remember. The collapse of the Berlin Wall and the Challenger Space Shuttle explosion. I like having personal memories of such incidences that I can now share with my kids when they learn about them in school!

All interesting things to remember and be proud of, I think. So, here’s a message from me to whoever gave aging a black theme color: You can stuff your “over-the-hill” paraphernalia in a sack mister!