Getting on in age comes with plenty of reminders
I have been having a lot of senior moments lately
– at least in the eyes of other people.
No, not my senior moments specifically (although I do have them
… and who among us does not?) I’m referring to other people
trying to convince me that I am a senior when I really am not.
Here I am, just a hair over the age of 50 and already everyone’s
trying to push me into the category of
”
old lady
”
… er,
”
senior.
”
Getting on in age comes with plenty of reminders
I have been having a lot of senior moments lately – at least in the eyes of other people.
No, not my senior moments specifically (although I do have them … and who among us does not?) I’m referring to other people trying to convince me that I am a senior when I really am not.
Here I am, just a hair over the age of 50 and already everyone’s trying to push me into the category of “old lady” … er, “senior.”
The first indication of this came last year when I hit the half-century mark and I began getting literature from AARP, which as you may know, stands for “American Association of Retired Persons.”
I felt that I was still a little too young for the likes of AARP – I’m not retired, and considering the state of Social Security, probably never will be – until I read their mission statement, to wit: “We are a nonprofit, nonpartisan membership organization that helps people 50 and over improve the quality of their lives.”
That did make me feel slightly better. AARP wasn’t specifically targeting me, or telling me I was officially an old person. No, they were bothering everyone in the United States over age 50. I was not the only one getting this kind of summons.
In fact, being a card-carrying member of the Baby Boomer generation, I’m in good company. Some of the elder Baby Boomers are now turning 65, and darned if they don’t look pretty good for their age.
Being a senior isn’t what it used to be. Far from being that time when life winds down, for a lot of people it’s when life really begins.
These days, thanks to medical advances, cosmetics and plastic surgery, you don’t even have to look old – unless you want to.
As far as I’m concerned, my life’s just getting going.
Being labeled as a “senior,” though, just isn’t for me. Even if according to some definitions, it might be true.
It’s kind of amazing, though, when you start looking around at senior benefits. Some places start giving people senior discounts when they’re only 55. The definition of senior does vary from place to place.
Myself, I’ve always thought of a senior person as being stooped and gray-haired, clutching a homemade afghan and wearing tennis shoes. I am not that kind of senior person. Not by any stretch of the imagination.
However, I cannot escape the fact that the Internet seems to think I’m old. I am getting ads in my spam box every day regarding romance – from websites that want to match me up with other old people.
One especially annoying one reads, “Lovely Senior Single Wants to Invite You to Dinner!”
I am single, but please, not a senior. And I don’t care to go out with anyone describing themselves as a “lovely senior single.” It’s just too weird.
Another one, from something called SeniorSinglesMatch, says, “Meet 50+ Passionate Singles Near You!”
Ewww, don’t think so.
Really, I am not totally in denial about getting older – otherwise I wouldn’t be admitting to it in this column. I just don’t want to be made out to be older than I have to be. It’s just a little bit too soon to be labeled as a “senior.”
Although I have to admit that I have been eyeing that 55-plus discount at Premiere Cinemas. Only four more years to go …
