I went to Saskatoon last weekend, and despite being a great time filled with friends and soccer, it also brought to reality my advancing age.
For those just tuning in, I turn 21 on Oct. 8. Unlike last year when I turned the big 2-0, I'm not freaking out that much about adding another year to my life. It's better than the alternative, after all.
Being that I'm in my final year of my bachelor's degree, I also don't expect to be the youngest kid at any party. Gone are the days when I could innocently say that I was only 17 and at a university party.
With all this in mind, I was slapped in the face twice last weekend by the reminder that my years are flying by.
After a day of watching soccer, walking by the river and a couple of delicious meals, a friend of mine and I got done up and headed to a house party. The house party, hosted by friends our age, was pretty lame. Everyone was a bit intoxicated when we got there, to the point that they couldn't figure out how to hold their cards, let alone understand the card games we wanted to play.
So my sister Kendelle, who now goes to school at the University of Saskatchewan, invited us to join her at a party in one of the residential areas. She warned us that the group there would be pretty young, but that we'd know enough people to make it fun.
When we got there, kids - literally, they were children - were being kicked out of the house. We walked past high school kids getting picked up by their parents, and heard girls wailing that they couldn't leave until their moms were there. However, undeterred we entered the party.
Now the horrifying part: As we were ushered into the home, a voice from the staircase asked us "hey, are you going to drink all that beer?" Annoyed, we turned around to face one of my neighbours growing up. When I graduated high school, he was only in Grade 9, but here he was, of an unknown level of intoxication, asking me for a drink.
I of course replied that the beer wasn't mine and that he wasn't going to be drinking any of it. And also shrieked "What are you doing here? I used to babysit you!"
He laughed, a lot, and said he couldn't believe we were at the same party.
I commented that I felt pretty old seeing him out. And the kid said, "Yeah, this makes me feel pretty old too."
Disgusting! We left that party pretty quick, but not before being invited to the high school after party somewhere in the city. We didn't attend. We instead went to a social business near my friend's house... where we crossed paths with yet ANOTHER kid I babysat while living in Estevan.
I guess I forgot that since I'm growing old, everyone else is too. Can't say I like seeing them and being reminded of that fact!
Tonaya Marr can be reached by e-mail at tonaya.marr@gmail.com or on Twitter @TonayaMarr. No, she will not reveal the identities of the people mentioned in this column. Have fun guessing, though.
