So today brought a long overdue trip to the doctor’s office.
Normally checkups aren’t a big deal — get your arm squeezed really tight, breathe in and out a couple of times, try to pretend that it’s normal to do something with a cup in the bathroom other than drink out of it.

But today was different.
Today I figured out that I’ve made a transition.
And it’s one I’m not too happy about.

Apparently there are tests and screenings that are appropriate for “women my age.”

If I heard it once, I heard it a thousand times today: “you’re at the age when it’s important to…”
For crying out loud, my doctor actually said that I’m now on the down slide towards menopause.
What, are you kidding?
Okay, it’s still several years away, but he’s got me preparing for it.

My age has never bothered me, I have to be honest. I’ve never felt or acted my age.
But today, I felt…older. I know I’m not old, but I felt like I aged a bit today and it made me sad.
As I sat in the waiting room of the imagine center to have an “age-appropriate” screening done (hint: think refrigerator door shutting really hard. Anything more specific would be indiscreet.) and I looked up and saw this little blue action figure staring down at me from the office plant. I started laughing out loud. Then I grabbed my phone and took a few photos.
It was almost as if he was trying to tell me, “It’s okay. You’re still a kid; you appreciate toys.”

I felt much better.

Although my photo-taking totally confused a couple of old women across the waiting room. They watched me and as I walked back to the exam room, a debate had ensued as to whether or not the plants were real or silk. Of course the flowers were silk, but the women hadn’t noticed that I’d been taking photos of a hidden toy, not the flowers. So they couldn’t figure out what the fuss was about.