Entering the late, late, late twenties

When I was in my early teens I read a magazine article that stated 28 was the new "ideal age." According to the article this was the age when an individual peaked in both their personal and professional lives.

I remember romanticizing about all the exciting things the future would hold at this great age. I even went so far as to tell my great-grandmother that I was going to get married when I was 28. I'm sure this statement came as a shock to her, but after listening to my reasoning her response was classic.

"Sweetheart, you'll be an old maid. You don't want to wait that long."

Confused I asked, "What's an old maid?" I only knew of the card that nobody wanted in the card game Old Maid.

As my 28th birthday approached my excitement grew. This was going to be my year of greatness.

The week of my birthday I got into a discussion about the ages of a couple a co-worker had interviewed. To my horror his response was "they were either in their early thirties or their late, late, late twenties." My first thoughts were, define "late, late, late twenties," and how does being in your "late, late, late twenties" sound older than being in your early thirties.

When I asked for a definition of "late, late, late twenties," my co-worker nonchalantly stated 28 or 29 years old.

I quickly decided that I wanted my aging memory to kick in, forgetting this conversation.

A week after my birthday a group of friends and I went camping. While sitting around the fire the guys began flipping through one of my People magazines.

They all mutually agreed that Kate Hudson was gorgeous. One of the guys asked about her age. Since I knew this tidbit of information, I proudly announced 28.

One of the guys suddenly burst out with "Wow, she's way too old." My jaw dropped. Since when did a 28-year-old Kate Hudson become too old for any guy?

This time I decided that I hadn't heard them correctly. Another sign of old age.

I laugh and shake my head at these humorous events. They haven't put a damper on my belief that 28 is going to be a great year.

I'm excited to see what adventures await me in the upcoming year. Hopefully fame and fortune for this old maid.

Jonda Pingetzer is the paginator.