T-shirts to live by

Here is a small list of thought-provoking T-shirt slogans I came across recently:

“You know you’re old when you clean to the music you used to drink to.”

“I don’t know how to act my age. I’ve never been this old before.”

“That’s a terrible idea! What time?”

“Never waste an opportunity to tell someone you love them.”

I am drawn to each of the slogans. The first, “You know you’re old when you clean to the music you used to drink to,” immediately reminds me of the Rolling Stones — a party band if there ever was one.

During my sometimes misspent youth, their music often provided a wild and frenetic backdrop to what I was doing, which was Lord knows what.

All these years later, I use their driving, loud, raucous beat to help me summon the energy to vacuum and dust. Their song “Start Me Up,” is perfect. It says,” If you start me up, I’ll never stop.” Just so you know, my vacuum cleaner rocks.

The second expression of interest to me is “I don’t know how to act my age. I’ve never been this old before.” Exactly — I couldn’t have said it better myself. When you feel the same way inside as you did when you were 25, it’s confusing to look in the mirror and see a gray-haired, wrinkled and bespectacled image staring back at you.

If you act like the image, you should probably acquire a cane and hang a disability tag from your rearview mirror. I bet you’re not ready for that. I bet you don’t know how to act your age.

What about, “That’s a terrible idea! What time?” Those words conjure up an image of my childhood friend Jane calling me to tell me that she was planning to steal her parents’ car and go for a joyride. Would I like to come?

I would. We were 12 years old. Then there was the time I was asked to tag along with some of my relations as they visited a graveyard at midnight to do “research” on our ancestors. We were stumbling around in the dark laughing like hyenas and managed to wake the neighbors. It was somewhat dicey explaining everything to the police.

Then there’s this bit of wisdom: “Never waste an opportunity to tell someone you love them.” This is important advice.

A little while ago, I unexpectedly lost a friend of many years. I had seen her recently, and she seemed in the peak of health. She was happy and vibrant and showed me pictures of her grandchildren, whom she adored. The feeling was mutual.

Now she’s gone, and I wish I had told her how much she meant to me. I suppose it might have seemed an odd thing to do in the moment, but I would feel better today if I had. So don’t be shy or embarrassed. Let the ones you care about know that you care, because life is tenuous and unpredictable, and we need to appreciate each other while we can.

That’s pretty serious stuff, so on a brighter note, here’s one last T-shirt message for you to ponder: “SMILE. It makes people wonder what you’re up to.”