Five

I know what you're thinking, "What? A post from Michelle in March?" Crazy, right? Never, in the history of Snow Comes Up, have I blogged in the month of March. Truly this is a momentous occasion.

So the title...Five. Not only is The Five a delightfully entertaining news show that 3 out of 4 Coffmans find fabulous, it is also the number of thoughts/observations that I'm going to share with you. Lately, I've had occasion to feel rather, well, old. Here are five signs that I just might be aging a bit:

1. Oh, Honey

Andy and I recently watched the first six seasons of How I Met Your Mother on Netflix. I can't believe that we didn't jump on board years ago and I'm so glad that we're caught up. Well, as caught up as we can be. Anyhow, they have this bit where this girl named Honey is guest starring and she is totally naive; they spend most of the show saying, "Oh, Honey." I find myself doing that more and more these days. Whether it's someone being naive like Honey, or it's just a poor decision that someone happens to be making, I have quite a few "Oh, Honey" moments.

2. My Kids Are Growing Up

Few things mark the passage of time like the growth of our children. In thirteen weeks, I will have a senior and a sophomore. My youngest child now has a chemistry teacher that I had in high school. How is this possible? It's because I'm getting old.

3. My Movie Selections

If you know me at all, you know that the number of chick flicks that I actually like can be tallied on my ten fingers. It should come as no surprise that our Netflix queue is full of drama and action movies with the occasional comedy, sci-fi or foreign movie thrown in. Two nights ago, we received a movie that we'd never seen but had heard a lot about. It's a classic, but somehow we'd missed it. On Wednesday evening, with a glass of wine and a glass of scotch in hand (I had wine, he had scotch; I didn't have both!), we watched The Godfather. Yes folks, we finally saw it. And somehow, I felt a little bit more grown-up when we were done.

4. Gym Trips Are More Work

A wise friend told me a while ago that I should get myself in shape before I turn 40. Having become quite disgusted at the general state that my body has become, I decided in December that 2012 would be the year that I reclaim a more decent Michelle. After years of starting diets only to fail days later and setting unrealistic expectations, I finally came up with what I think is a reachable goal. I started walking and eating better on January 2nd and at the end of January, I joined a fabulous gym. I am happy to say that I am now 11 pounds down and I have no desire to stop at any time soon. That being said...it's so hard!!!! Ten years ago, I could have joined a gym and thought nothing of it. Now my body frequently yells at me. Ice this, heat that, tape this, stretch that. At least twice a week I have a Roger Murtaugh moment and think, "I'm getting to old for this..."

5. My Coffee Order

I used to drink Mochas. A couple of years ago, I switched to Vanilla Lattes. Last month, I changed it up and started getting Americanos that were sweetened and had a splash of whole milk. I am happy to say that while my Americanos must still be sweetened, I no longer add any milk to them. It's odd, but I've always wanted to like black coffee and beer. Not together or anything funky like that, but it's a goal of mine to one day be able to go into a restaurant and order, "Coffee." Or to sit down at a bar and simply ask for a beer. Will I get there? No idea. But I do believe that the absence of anything creamy in my coffee is a step in that direction, and therefore, a sign of growing up.

Yep. I'm getting definitely getting older.