excuse the absence

i can't believe it's THE END OF APRIL already! remember when you were a kid and the summer holiday seemed to stretch into the future forever? and then when school started it felt like the winter days and waking up in darkness would never end... somehow these last few months (and years, even) feel as if they've flown by and i've missed making the most of a lot of my days.

i'm told this is all part of getting old(er). i'm starting to say things i remember hearing my parents say: "kids grow up so fast" and "where has the year gone??" and as i age (and a birthday has gone by since i last posted) i find i'm becoming more and more like my mother. how and when did that start happening?

a mutual friend of mine and happy-d's once told us you should always hang out with people who are 10 years younger and 10 years older. the great thing about hanging out with younger people is they always think you're considerably younger than you are – i've been told i look 24 or 25 at the MOST (ha!). that made me feel good. it makes me feel i haven't quite reached the age where i'm completely uncool yet.

the great thing about hanging out with older people is... well, they make you glad to be younger! and, i guess, often they have some wisdom and life experience to impart. they remind you not to sweat the small stuff, and even when you think you're in the worst crisis of your life, the fact is, you will get through it.

so, as i've passed another birthday and now must well and truly put my 20's behind me, i shall mourn the loss of my sterling short-term memory (gone are the days when i could go to the grocery store without a list), my huge appetite (i just can't manage to eat as much as i used to, so now it's more about quality rather than quantity), and my ability to stay awake late enough to watch the weather report on the 10 o'clock evening news. the thing that worries me most about getting older, though, is the thought that maybe i will be less brave (or, perhaps, less impulsive!) about taking risks -- perhaps because as you get older, there's more at stake, and more to lose. but i suppose, the greater the risk, the greater the potential reward. i guess time will tell...

photo: hurray! they've extended the already excellent recycling collection in my borough. in addition to recycling cans, glass, batteries (even car batteries!), engine oil, shoes and textiles, card and paper, and aerosol cans, they now also collect cartons (ie. tetrapaks), plastics, garden waste, food waste for composting, and even mobile phones and printer cartridges!