signs of aging

as my birthday draws inevitably near (yes, i have a birthday. i am not a spawn from the depths of hell.) i realize a lot of things are different about me. physically, i am not as healthy (or virus-immune) as i used to be. my digestive system is becoming more sensitive to the things i eat. i get tired easily, and when i don't get regular exercise, my body can tell. finally, when that time of the month rolls around, i become moody and irritable - and i notice it.

but it goes beyond that. i realize that a lot of my values and opinions have changed - evolved? - just this past year. some days i catch myself thinking like *gasp* my mother. it usually comes out when dealing with the househelp and with my younger sisters. not that i've become a nag. (good grief, i hope not.) but i've become less lenient on some things my mom is particular about. like the maids taking liberties with our appliances at home. previously, i wouldn't mind if the househelp would watch TV in our room. or use the PC. i didn't mind what they do in their free time, as long as they get the job done, and they don't steal anything. not anymore. i have become more concerned about how they hang out with the construction workers next door. how they use our things without permission. (it might have something to do with a certain maid driving my so-called car and backing it into the gate.) i guess, in some ways, i have become more... traditional. conservative. mommy-ish. to the point of getting on my sister's case about work and other things she's supposed to do.

it must be the age.