When did 24 become old??!!

Can someone please tell me at what age should your biological clock start ticking? I am 24, I am still single, I dont have any kids yet and I have always been totally fine with this. I've always assumed I was going at the right pace. I figured I can date around and have fun in my 20's while trying to figure out what I want to do in life, and then at like 30 I would worry about settling down and starting a family. Thirty sounded like a good age to me, but for some reason this week I have run into several incidents that have caused that little biological clock (the one I hadn't even put batteries in yet) to start ticking away.

Starting with Monday night at my waitressing job I got a surprise visit from Tommy, an old customer who was also an old flame. No biggie though, cause we left everything off on pretty good terms, and I was actually excited to see him since its been about 2 years. As I was refilling his coffee and he was telling me all about his pregnant fiancee, new co-op, and mitsubishi eclipse, I still felt totally comfortable with my life. The clock still remained hollow and not ticking. Then after I told him how happy I was for him, a concerned look crossed his face, and he blurted out " I really thought that you would have found someone to settle down with by now, I mean dont you ever want to have kids?" OUCH! And just like that the batteries were in the clock.

But the clock wasnt wound yet, it wasnt set or anything. I mean I wasnt going to take to heart one comment from one person who obviously was ready to start the family life at his age. That was his choice, me...I'm just not ready. So the clock got some batteries but still it wasnt wound, not until later this week I went to get my car an oil change down the street at the gas station. There was this really attractive, attentive, young mechanic working on my car. He was so helpful giving me car advice, and he even went the extra mile to changing the fuses for me so my horn and fog lights would finally work. He appeared to be in his early or mid 20's, and he and another mechanic were talkin me up for a while, as he worked on my car. Now, the other mechanic was hitting on me every few minutes, but I kindly shot him down since I was more interested in the younger one. Besides, he was more my age. When he was all done he refused my money I tried to give him for changing my fuses and asked me my name. I foolishly started thinking that maybe he was going to ask me on a date. I told him my name and then he asked how old I was. But for some reason after I said that I was 24 he made a face!! Not a hey we're close to the same age face but a wow i didnt realize you were that old face!! That was it! No date invitation, no phone number exchange, just a face and then a smile, and a "make sure you have someone look at those brakes" and then I ducked in my car, and started winding up that clock! Was 24 too old for him? He looked like he couldnt be less the 22, 23? Maybe he only dated 18 yr olds! Loser. WHEN DID 24 BECOME OLD!

So the clock had been only half way wound but the other half was wound another day at my job when one of my managers, an old Greek man named Gus, decided to sit down with me as I ate my one free meal a day and have a "heart to heart" which turned into an interrogation and was followed by a trial with my love life on the stand. "You need to start taking your life more seriously. Find someone to spend the rest of your life with, not just to pass the time. Dont you ever want to have babies! You're never going to get married if you dont start taking people more seriously" Huh? I mean I know I have a reputation of being maybe a flirt at the most but it wasnt like I dated a different guy every week. I just dont have a steady boyfriend! So after he yelled at me about having babies some more and finished winding that clock up for me I lashed out at him and got back to work. Throwing my half eaten free meal in the garbage, I felt all wound up but was grateful to not hear ticking yet.

Then, last night my mother called from AZ to see how things were and relay the good news that my 20 year old cousin and his pregnant girlfriend finally had the baby! Aww....how wonderful I thought to myself sarcastically. I mean its not that I wasnt happy for them but I felt a little sorry for the girlfriend. I had seen too many of my friends have babies young in life and then complain about how they couldnt do anything anymore they had no money and no life ect. This is the whole reason that I wanted to wait until I was 30, so I could live my life first. After small talk I broke down and told my mom about the few incidents this week and asked her if she thought I was overreacting. Now, what I had hoped to get was a little cheering up. I hoped my mom was going to tell me that I was overreacting, and of course I'm not running out of time I was only 24 I had plenty of time to worry about marriage and kids. That my manager was just an old school, old fart who comes from the old country where they got married at like 12 or something. That the mechanic at the gas station might have been making a face about something else maybe I just read it wrong, and that Tommy always wanted to have kids and get married even back when we were dating at the age of 19 so of course he was gonna marry and knock up the first willing girl! But I forgot that i was talking to my mom. The mom who's been begging for grandkids since i was 16! This was her response, "Well people are probably telling you these things for a reason. Of course you need to be in a serious relationship now. I mean your not getting any younger. Your not a kid anymore you know, its better you find someone now cause in a few years when your ass grows to the size of a macy's day balloon, and you get gray hair, who's gonna want you then. And me and your father are not getting any younger you know? We would at least like to be young enough to enjoy our grandkids!" tick, tick, tick, tick. Thanx mom.

So I made a deal with my mom, if by the age of 30 I still haven't settled down and found someone to produce her a grandchild with, I will go to plan B. Plan B being that I will randomly have a one night stand and get knocked up by the best candidate I could find, with the best genetic possibilities, and drop off her grandchild at her doorstep. Me being her cynical, sarcastic daughter made this proposal, and her being my irrational, crazy mother actually accepted the proposal with the response of "Ok well if thats the only way I'll get one then it sounds good to me." tick tick tick You gotta love her.