28 so far (Grumpy, old Debbies)

Well, I have been 28 for one week now. There is not a great deal of change between 27 and 28 but I have noticed a couple of subtler changes. 1. I feel grumpier. I guess it could be the stress of moving house and end-of-term* pent-up rage but I feel really grouchy. Seriously, I'm considering moving into a trash can on Sesame Street and being surly and sarcastic at children and muppets. 2. I feel more vulnerable to the cold and whinge about the weather more. I caught myself joining in one of those conversations that more mature ladies at work have about the cold. This isn't just one of those polite quick chats about the weather. This was in depth analysis and complaining about which joints and bones hurt more in the cold, the lack of proper heating, cost of electricity and thermal underwear, a pessimistic view that the 'worst was yet to come' and a general agreement that winter nowadays was not as good as the winters used to be in the old days. The thing is that I couldn't stop. I have continued to blather and bitter lament the cold weather for the duration of most days. I don't even know if I can have a conversation about topics other than the cold weather anymore. 3. I have become more forgetful. I am added to my reputation with my form class as 'senile' with my continually calling students by the wrong name. I also say the wrong words in sentences all the time. 4. I crave tea and gingernuts. Ok, it's not really a symptom of being old so much as a sign of being cold. * Students lighting fires in bathrooms on cold, rainy days really doesn't help. Evacuating in bad weather really sucks.** ** It also sucks when the fire alarms manage to short a fuse in the scool's wiring and we have a power cut for most of the afternoon!