The IKEA monkey is a teenager

It’s that time of year again: the snow is falling, the chestnuts are roasting and the CBC is providing an update on the IKEA monkey. No longer teeny-tiny and no longer wearing a chic shearling coat, Darwin has been living at the Story Book Farm Primate Sanctuary in Sunderland, Ontario, since he was seized by authorities in 2012. Apparently he is on the shy side, perhaps based on his early brush with fame, according to a volunteer who spoke with the CBC.

Related: The IKEA monkey saga is over; he’s free to frolic with other monkeys forever and ever

It has been thirteen years since the Japanese macaque first sauntered into the parking lot of the North York IKEA (and into the hearts of Torontonians). That means, yes, the IKEA monkey is officially a teenager—and millennials are officially middle-aged. Gen Z may have their Labubus, but for the older cohort, Darwin was an IRL early example of going viral: a social media celebrity from a time before Twitter was just a cesspool of fake news, not to mention an early window into meme culture, a popular Halloween costume and an important fashion influence for Drake.

Now, he may even be ready to start dating, according to the same volunteer, who told the CBC that she was considering introducing Darwin to his next-door neighbour, another Japanese macaque named Chiquita.

Not to get overly nostalgic here, but it’s true what they say: the days are long but the years are short. One day the little guy is walking around a parking lot in his diaper, then you blink and he’s almost as tall as you. Suddenly the dreams of youth feel as worn as a miniature shearling coat and you just want to hurl monkey dung at the drudgery of modern life. Happy anniversary, dear Darwin. Enjoy those teenage years while you can.