The Man who was 30

Lamar was as happy as a 29-year-old could be. That’s because tomorrow was his 30th birthday. Birthdays were joyous occasions to reflect how far you’ve come. Lamar wanted to keep things simple this year. He’ll head out in the morning to get a few beers with the boys. After that, he’ll spend a romantic evening with his lovely wife.

At dawn, Lamar woke up. Oh, boy was that slap a happy slap; it’s his birthday! Drinking with the boys, caressing his wife. Life was going to be good. He bounded down the stairs four steps at a time and shoveled down his wife’s pancakes. Lamar planted a kiss on her cheek as he slammed open the door and clambered outside.

Lamar was on the phone, mocking up some plans with his mates. He sauntered over to the mailbox to grab what was undoubtedly yet more bills to pay. Suddenly, wham!

Some sniveling punk-nosed brat on a skateboard knocked Lamar on the ground.

“Watch where you’re going, old man,” he said before skating off.

That’s odd. Did that kid call him an old man? He wasn’t in his twenties anymore, but he wasn’t an old man. Or was he?

“Old man?” Lamar asked himself.

Lamar stared at his hands, the hands of a decaying fool. Wrinkling fingers, no different from a raisin. Brittle bones, faster heartbeat, slower metabolism. His once luxurious set of black hair became as grey as the shallow sea. A wrinkled face full of envy and despair.

Why was he turning 30, on his birthday of all days? The things he could have carried out in his 20s. Youth was wasted on the young. Lamar is no longer involved, as the newest member of the ‘old generation. Gone were the days of adventurous parties and new experiences. Those days of happiness were over. What should he get for his birthday now? A wheelchair, a hearing aid, some de-aging cream.

“Old man!”

Lamar shouted as he kneeled on the floor. What did it matter, he was a crazy old man? His shriveled hands wiped the tears off his prune face. Lamar sat in a corner, crying as his age caught up to him. The passerby stared at him before walking away. His old age was already making him a senile mad man. Lamar wasn’t as cool as he used to be. Wait, did kids still say the word ‘cool’? How would he know he’s 30?

Old geezer Lamar thought he lost everything. Until a happy realization dawned upon him.

Lamar was still the same Lamar.

“Old man,” Lamar said with a sense of relief. This darkness inside him turned to light.

Life didn’t end in his 30s. In some ways, his life was starting. Gone were the days of chaos and ruin known as his 20s. No more crappy internships and financial instabilities. Lamar didn’t need to prove his worth to the world anymore. Now, he could enjoy the fruit of his labor. He had his dream job, true love, and a nice new home in the suburbs. There was a sense of stability and order in his life his past self could have never imagined. Lamar looked back on his life and felt proud of the path he trod. For the first time in his life, Lamar felt like a man.

“Don’t fight old age,” Lamar said to himself. “Embrace it.

Lamar’s birthday was perfect. He spent a beautiful day enjoying life with his loved ones. What more could a man want? Part of growing up is learning when to keep the past behind. Sure, some things were worse, but that didn’t mean some things weren’t better. It’s all a matter of perspective. Out with the old and in with the new.

Lamar was as happy as a 30-year-old could be.