Dinner with the over 30s

Original source unknown but found here via Pinterest

I am in my 20s. I know this is still young, very young in fact. There are few occasions where I am actually made to think about my age. One of these is going to my hospital clinic where I am fairly sure I am the youngest one there because most of the people who need Warfarin are older/elderly. The other is when I am in a group of people out of which I am the only person still living at home. I was involved in the latter social situation last weekend when I attended a dinner party at my older cousin's flat. She is around ten years older than me, as were her friends. From what I gleaned over our delicious three-course meal (which I can only apologise for not photographing), here are some things that happen at dinner in your 30s which just don't in your 20s:

Sharing the joys of household goods
- Demonstrations of how fantastic the new Dyson vacuum cleaner you recently purchased is, along with the story of how and when it was bought, including its journey home. Like a puppy.
- Excitement about the latest water filter also purchased

Drink choices vary between mugfuls of comfort and sophisticated poison
- Half the table who were going out that night were drinking Amaretto on the rocks, the other half who weren't going out were drinking Tetley

Speaking your mind
- The expectation that a 23 year old should be living in their own place
- Honesty about meringue stuck in teeth and spa days involving nakedness.

Nutrition and detoxing discussions
- Obsessing over diets, regimes and getaways to help "shed pounds"

Popular culture is both known about and frowned upon
- All conversations about One Direction involved looks shot my way. I don't even like them.
- Nobody spoke about Twitter. I was so out of my depth...!

Various other things my vocabularly has never had to work its way around
- Dilemmas involving boyfriends with wives and children
- Being able to say "about nine years ago, my manager said to me..." (9 years ago my biggest ambition was to be Minnie Mouse at Disneyland)
- Being asked how old you are by a stranger and being offended because nobody asks that past a certain point.

Of course, I have only picked up on the topics of comedic appeal in this post but I found the whole experience so refreshing. It was nice to hear women talk confidently and knowledgeably about a whole range of issues. I'd be really interested to hear any other revelations or observations you have about the way conversation shifts as you grow older. What attitudes do you spot in those a few years older than you, that you yourself do not yet identify with? This link shows all us 20-somethings what we have to look forward to - looks like a lot of fun!

Tweet Pin It Now!