You Know You're Getting Old When...

- you move your run from Tuesday to Wednesday morning because it snowed on Monday night. Not a lot but enough to make you afraid of the ice patches that may be hidden under the snow. Enough to make you cringe at the thought of slipping and falling. Am I too young to break a hip?

- you start thinking about signing up for 2015 triathlons but then decide to wait to see how quickly things warm up in the spring before you commit to anything in June. The thought of signing up for an early-season triathlon and swimming in freezing cold water is enough to convince you to focus on late summer tris instead.

- you wear sensible boots to work on snowy days. But you carry your nice boots in a shopping bag so you can change when you get there.

- you put hand cream on religiously partly because your hands are really dry and partly because, when they are dry, they look remarkably like your mother's hands. And then you think how wonderful it is that you're turning into your mother.

- you're perfectly fine with pulling on baggy pants complete with fuzzy lining, an oversized sweatshirt, a parka complete with furry hood and oversized black mittens in order to get to and from CoreFit class. You don't care one whit about what it looks like. You just know that you'll be soaking wet, and therefore freezing, on the way home and you can hear your father's voice in your head telling you to dress warmly and wear your coat with the hood.

- you get excited when your quarterly RRSP summaries arrived the mail so that you can check to see how much your retirement nest egg has grown. And then you get ridiculously proud of yourself for listening when you were younger and investing whatever amount you could.

- you leave bigger tips because you realize the value of good service and you also understand how hard it can be when things are tight.

- you don't bother complaining about things unless they're actually worth complaining about. And, if you think about most things that bother you, you quickly realize that they really are not worth complaining about. And that thought alone is enough to cheer you up.

Actually, I'm not sure these things are as much about getting old as they are about growing up.

I'm getting used to the idea of being in my 40s and I'm realizing with each passing day that it's quite a nice place to be.