If you have reading glasses in nearly every room in the house, if you can't make it through an entire movie on the couch without falling asleep and if you are in are in bed by 10 p.m. each night, it can mean only one thing. It means you are getting older.
A Catholic school nun once told me, "Getting old is not for the faint-hearted," and she was right. For many of us over 50, the aches and pains of getting older are most unwelcome. While it is not true of everyone, most of us have a bum knee (or shoulder or elbow). We also can't eat the same foods anymore or stay up to watch the ball drop on New Year's Eve. Sometimes we even forget why we walked into a room or why we opened a drawer or cabinet.
Other signs that a person is getting older: We pay with cash. We mail in checks to pay our bills. We use our cellphones only to make phone calls. We talk about the "way things used to be." Sometimes it takes us just a little bit longer to get out of a chair or off the couch.
We sometimes don't understand what younger people are talking about, especially with all the weird social media abbreviations. We do not tweet, and we are not on TikTok.
When there are television commercials for award shows, like the MTV Music Awards, we have no idea who any of the artists are. All our favorite songs can now be heard on the oldies station.
Finding the car in a large parking lot can be quite daunting. We buy Christmas and/or birthday presents early and then can't remember where we hid them. We used to be able to pluck a gray hair or two that might appear on our heads, but now that has become a losing battle. On a personal note, if napping were an Olympic sport, I would have gold medal.
Plus, everyone seems to be younger than us - co-workers, the cable guy, hair stylists, mechanics and even doctors and dentists.
But growing older does have its positives as well. As the saying goes, "With age comes wisdom." Living does teach us many important lessons, such as cherishing every moment that we have with family and friends. Experience also teaches us not obsess over things we cannot change and not to sweat the small stuff. We are also less impulsive, we have the ability to laugh at ourselves and life's bad experiences have made us stronger.
Growing older also means trying to find a little piece of joy in every day, whether it be watching a silly sitcom on TV, having a hot cup of tea with sugar and extra cream or buying a candy bowl shaped like a duck for the coffee table.
Those of us who are entering the second phase of our lives have many new and exciting adventures to look forward to, including retirement, travel and welcoming new additions to the family. It will be interesting to see what life will bring us as we grow older, and we will be able to experience it all - as long as it happens before 10 p.m.
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