I hate calling myself "woman". It sounds so old. But then again, saying "girl" makes me feel like I'm short-changing myself. And silly. Except when I say "girl's night out". No, sometimes that sounds silly, too.
I know that, technically speaking based on that age and number game, I'm a woman. I'm married, must act responsibly as a working zombie, and mother little people who expect to be fed (and more) each and every day.
But when all the work cohorts gather around the non-existent water cooler (because really, who puts water coolers in the office these days besides doctor offices?) and start chumming it up about their weekend, the talk inevitably centers around drinking.
Ummm, I pretty much hung that hat up at the ripe age of 25. Not that I did a whole heck of a lot of drinking to begin with, so it wasn't difficult. The first time I realized I couldn't drink on a week night and survive an actual work day afterward, I stopped trying. So as they chat it up, laugh about concoctions and various silly things that happen when drinking is involved, I become the "woman" of the group.
I am not the oldest female.
I am not the only parent.
I am not the only spouse.
I am, apparently though, the only non-drinker of the group. I wonder, do I stick out like a sore thumb? Probably. But I laugh at their stories because they're funny, I make faces at the things they drink because it makes me ill to think about, and I repeatedly mother them and remind them about drinking and driving.
Never will I share any stories that I have involving liquor. Or dancing. Or peeing in inappropriate locations. Ever.
I'm a woman, for goodness sake.
7 comments:
Well, halleluia! I'm not the only inappropriate pee'er!
I'm not a big drinker either. Other than the occasional glass of wine at home or out with a couple of friends.
But the old gotta-do-it-weekly-to-make-me-think-I'm-hip-and-cool kind of stuff?
Not so much.
I have to say that is one thing I do not miss about certain work environments. Sometimes working with a bunch of old, grumpy, frumpy women has its advantages, LOL. oh wait...just ONE advantage!
Haha - we do have a water cooler, but it's in our kitchen at work, so does that really count? And most times we're gathered around the Keurig waiting our turn - ha!
Anyway, yea, I quit trying to drink on weeknights a long time ago too...anymore than a glass of wine and the next day is just too long...and I definitely hung up my "stories" days a while ago.
We have lots of drinking, partying 30-somethings at work. And well, I drink pretty much every night but it's 1-2 glasses of wine. Not shots.
I definitely do not miss getting completely wasted nearly every weekend. Totally over it.
I still call myself a girl because woman just seems so, I dunno, adult? And my drinking window was pretty small for me and came in way late. I didn't do the college drinking/going out Friday & Saturday thing til I got to grad school and that was just a year-long stretch. Once home, I still went clubbing and partying, but I got tired of going to same haunts every weekend.
These days, I'll partake in friends' events or social activities and maybe have a cocktail or two max. I'll drink wine with the bf during dinner and can't handle the loud thumping music anymore. Sometimes I wonder if I am just getting older when I'm sitting at a cafe enjoying a live jazz band. But then I'll walk past a locale on my way home, the long ass lines filled with girls in skimpy outfits, the bass seeping out the door, and find myself secretly wishing I were heading there instead.
You are a woman - and a wonderful one - what you aren't is an "old woman".
:)
LoL don't feel bad.
My husband's 30th birthday in Vegas and the first night I went to bed at 10PM after two drinks
The second night from my one drink had a horrible migraine and spent half the night in the room
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