Comic Strips

There was something cool about my 20's, moving cities, making new friends, dating around, picking up new hobbies and interests. I always had roommates, because it always made more financial sense, but that also had the side effect of having a wider social circle. It was fun and exciting.

But 30-40 was probably my peak fun. I started coasting at work, but was senior/respected enough that I could just mostly be left alone. At work and socially and just out in the world, people took me seriously to where I felt less social pressure, and could prioritize the things that were important to me rather than to other people. That social freedom was pretty liberating. And it didn't hurt that I was making better money than in my 20's, especially when accounting for the dual income when I got into a long term committed monogamous relationship in my early 30's.

So with that newfound social freedom and increased financial and career flexibility, I shifted to a slightly different style of having fun with friends, valuing closeness and time together rather than just a packed agenda of action items each time we got together. We could do weekend trips somewhere around a particular activity (skiing, lounging at a beach, distillery tours), but really building closeness with things like couch/patio time between planned meals or activities.

My 40's are a different kind of fun, maybe more responsibility, a few more body aches and pains, a few health scares, lots more parenting responsibilities, a little more helping my own parents responsibilities, dealing with more external world nonsense in 2026 compared to 2016, but overall I'm still doing fine on the fun front. My 30's were the best, though.

It's not about this being an insult. It's about the sudden realization that one has become a grown-up / "old" as in not being a child anymore

Not universal. I don't like being called sir by my coworkers. I'm in what may be considered a higher position (Esc/tier 3), but I have no management powers or anything, just worked at this company longer. Plus one of the ones who said it was only a few years younger than me.

People expect themselves to be children until the world proves them wrong.

Before I read your comment I honestly thought it was a trans woman coming to the realization she was passing without even trying. Did think the expression in the last panel was a bit odd XD

Or you live anywhere in the south and are a woman

In my later days of working at a supermarket, knowing I was going to imminently give my two weeks, I used to apply all sorts of discounts to people. "You get a senior discount", "You get a student discount", "You get bonus points", "I can't tell if these are the organic tomatoes so I'll just charge for the cheaper ones", etc.

On my last day, I loaded up the savings card of my last customer with bonus gas points equivalent of having spent $1000 in groceries (basically just $1 off per gallon of gas). Curious to know if I ended up causing a stir after leaving, I asked a friend of mine who still worked there if anyone made a fuss. No one ever noticed or complained.

The store probably loses an order of magnitude more each day just on the amount of expired food they throw away. Yet the corporate propaganda wants their employees to feel like they just robbed a bank if you so much as scan a coupon that the customer didn't bring with them.

I spent my 20s next to a booze store where this old lady worked who LOVED me for some reason and would give me and anyone I was with the senior discount all the time. Then she got in trouble and had to stop. Then she stopped giving a fuck and did it anyway, despite me and my friends telling her not to.

I hope she’s still around and still a fuckin G

Discount though, nice. Hopefully you didn't say anything :p.

It's not about the respect aspect of it though. And not everywhere is the South.

It's the massive gut punch that comes from being recognized as "old" by your community. Wouldn't even consider it "getting bent out of shape".

It's different for women. "Miss" implies youthfulness but can also be used as a snide way of implying nobody wants to marry her, whereas "ma'am" implies deference on the part of the speaker but can also be used cruelly to imply she's old and matronly. There's basically no situation for a woman in which something neutral or positive can't also be used as a way of making a dig at her for not being as good as a theoretical ideal woman.

Yeah I never felt that either but that's probably because my mom called me miss ma'am a lot growing up.

That's so real.

I can't be a man, I'm just a guy

I think ma'am is a better default for strangers. It's the best female equivalent available for sir. Miss sounds patronizing unless you are using it in place of Mrs.

I thought this was a passing comic at first and couldn't figure out the last panel.

Who's the old person?

Me.

I'm the old person.