Growing Old

I was probably just being sensitive. Or overworked.

I can understand why people -strangers- out there called me by Ibu.
"Mau beli apa, Bu?"
"Pesan apa, Bu?"
"Berapa liter, Bu?"
"Loh, Bu, ngapain naik-naik pager?!"
These people are being polite.

And then something started. If I'm not mistaken it had started to happen when I graduated from college and then it has got worst. Whenever I meet or talk to my friends (especially those from my before-life a.k.a high school, college, clubs) they call me by "Ibu".
"Apa kabar, Bu."
"Terima kasih, Bu."
"Kapan ketemuan lagi, Bu?"
"Maen-maen ke rumah dong, Bu."

At first, I thought they were just being polite. Or joking. Or politely joking. But lately, when they started to pop up in my YM and frequently called me Bu, Bu, Bu, Bu generously, I began to get really really annoyed. Like, really annoyed. And what makes me more annoyed is I cannot figure out why they have to call me (or call each other) by Bu.

My friend, Barb, joked that it was by far better than hearing them calling me Pak. Well... But then, she said probably it was just a reminder that we (by this she meant herself!) were not young anymore. I told her I was never obsessed of being young forever. But, come on! Being called Ibu by people you grew up with?!

Now, I guess you have watched Donna's character by Meryl Streep in Mammamia? Honestly, I am so captured by Meryl Streep's way of becoming Donna. Donna is a woman of 40s, I guess, but look how she carries herself. She is so cheerful, so alive, so full of life (and without a bit of regrets). Makes me wonder if I can be that young when I am old.
Donna and her friends are exactly how I pictured myself and my friends in the future. Pictured. With suffix 'd' as in the past tense. With the way they keep calling each other and me Bu and Pak, I guess I have to change the picture of them in the future. My picture stays the same, of course. I'm not ashamed to confess you can picture me growing old like Donna, more or less. So, people, especially if you went to the same school with me, stop calling me Bu!

Well, then, care to tell me about your picture?