You can log on to Twitter on any given Friday night and see a multitude of tweets about being “washed” on a Friday night.  One day a couple of months back, I saw a tweet by a 40+ year old man admonishing his peers to stop being “boring” and “washed”.  His logic was that we’re at the age where we can afford to travel, enjoy a night at the lounge and participate in other new experiences.  He took issue with his peers being content with “just chillin’ in the house.”  For what it’s worth, this guy is unmarried and childless.  While I slightly agree with him, I’d like to offer a more balanced perspective. 

I’ll be 43 at the end of October.  Since the Forever Young installment, I have settled into a long-term relationship which produced two beautiful children.  Prior to that — I have traveled, I have loved and lost, I have partied on many occasions, all with the notion of getting certain experiences out of my system before I settled into a more peaceful and comfortable life.

These days, people are marrying, procreating and settling down much later in life.  In fact, according to data from the 2021 National Association of Realtors (NAR) report, the typical age of all homebuyers has risen to 47 years old, up from 31 years old in 1981.  Furthermore, women are putting their careers first and, in some instances, foregoing marriage and children altogether.  For those of us who have finally settled down, I feel it’s perfectly okay to be washed and at home most nights. 

We live in this age of social media where it seems like everyone is motivated to “do it for the ‘gram!”  I’d argue that for everything under the sun, there is a season.  A time to party all night.  A time to travel.  A time to spend money with reckless abandon.  A time for casual sex (if that’s your thing!).  I would be remiss if I didn’t admit that there are times when I miss my “old” life, however, those moments are few and fleeting.  One lesson I’ve learned about life is that everything is cyclical.  Lord willing, there will be plenty of opportunities to travel again and be “on the scene” once the kids get older.  There will be a time to rent and a time to buy home.  There will be times of career progression and times where things feel stagnant. 

I’m at the age where I’m simply content being “washed” and living the life that I prayed for.