I'm too old to date Zack Morris

So last night I had a dream where Zack Morris (yes, that Zack Morris, from Saved By the Bell) picked me up to drive me to school. He asked me to go to the school dance with him. I was going to say yes, and then I remembered that I'm not in high school and haven't been for a long time. I said, "I'm 2- wait no, 32 years old, Zack. How old are you going to tell your friends I am?" He said he would tell them I was 18, and I was flattered, but it didn't seem like a good idea. Then, since I didn't go to school, Zack dropped me off at the mall.

So this dream got me thinking about the things I am now too old to do at the ripe old age of 32. The maximum age for enlisting for active service in the Air Force is 27, and for the Marines 28. (I could still join the Army or Navy for another two years.) I am too old to audition for American Idol.

There are other things I am probably too old to do, even if there's no law against it or rule restricting my participation. I'm too old to start training to compete in most of the Olympic sports I enjoy watching (figure skating, gymnastics, diving, ski jump, etc) Based on watching No Reservations with Anthony Bourdain, I think I'm too old to begin a serious career as a professional chef. I'm too old to become a super model or a movie star. Too old to become an astronaut, (see too old to join the Air Force) too old to become a ballerina, too old to become the star of a Disney Channel sitcom.

There are tons more things though that I am NOT too old for! I could train for a marathon, climb a mountain, start a business. I could travel anywhere in the world. I could write a book. I could write 12 books, and get them turned into an HBO series. Charlaine Harris and George R.R. Martin are 60 and 64, respectively. I could go back to college. I can be a Mom. (I really still have time, biological clock, could you turn it down a minute!?) Lots of people do all those things (sometimes two or three of them simultaneously) all the time. I'm not saying it's easy, but I am saying, yes, I can do it. I can do anything I put my mind to. That's how I was raised.

So while I am too old to date Zack Morris, there are a whole lot of things I can still do. It's all up to me.

"Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now.” - Goethe