Old Soul

"You have an old soul."  What does that mean?  Is it a compliment?  What makes someone think that about a person?


A few weeks ago, as the Friday afternoon was winding down at work, I was asked about my weekend plans.  I said that I was going to be going to a couple friends’ wedding anniversary party.  It was their 50^th anniversary party.  I am 31 years old.  John and Betty are in their 70’s, and I honestly call them friend.  At the moment that I was telling about the 50^th wedding anniversary party I was tickled that my co-workers didn’t think it was weird that I was friends with people that were so superior to me in age.  In fact, the very next weekend I went to another friend’s birthday party.  She turned 64.

When I think about the cast that I call friends, it is diverse in age.  The group of friends includes people that are several years my junior, many that are in the same peer group as my parents, and yet still a fair number that are contemporaries of my grandparents. 

I am very involved in a church that is muti-generational, and perhaps this is one reason for this group of friends.  Maybe another reason that my posse is this way could be the group of caregivers my mother chose for me as a child.  I spent a lot of time with my grandparents growing up.  Many weekends were spent in a tent in the formal living room on Coral Ridge Circle.  (I know that sounds weird, but hey I had fun.)  I remember two women that lived in the apartment complex where we (my mom and I until 10th grade) resided.  If I ever forgot my key I was always welcome to stay at their house until my mother arrived from work.  The secret is now out that sometimes I had my key when I ended up at their place.

When I pointed out to my co-workers the fact that I was attending the 50^th wedding anniversary party, and that they didn’t make a comment or blink an eye Tamara offered, “It’s because you are an old soul.” 

I don’t know what that means, but I like the descriptor