GETTING OLD

I guess after all these years of denying it I must finally recognize myself as old. At least my 13-year old grandson thinks so and brought it to my attention. As I drove to the restaurant to meet my daughter and grandsons for dinner last night, my grandson noticed the approaching cars, including mine and commented, “Bubbe is the oldest person driving a car.” And he was probably right. In another year and a half, I will be 70 !!!

Ironically, my age has in fact been a topic of discussion twice in just the last two days. At a meeting for my class reunion, one of the others mentioned her husbands 70th birthday party. “My goodness,” I remember thinking, “how is it possible that I am almost 70.” And again today at the health club, as I talked with another woman, age was mentioned once again and I had to confront the fact that yes, it won’t be long until I too am 70.

Other milestone birthdays have had an impact on me, but I think turning 70 will take the cake. When I turned 30, my ex-husband and I had just divorced and once again I would start dating. But I felt so weird. Dating was for teenagers and young people but I was an “over-the-hill” middle aged woman. At 40, I thought of the expression “life begins at 40.” And I optimistically looked forward to my birthday. But when I awoke on Jan 25th, I felt no different than the day before.

When I turned 50, I was dumb-struck. It seemed incredible and I could not believe that one-half a century had passed. It didn’t seem like I had lived all those many years. At 60, I retired and was too busy filling my leisure time to pay much attention to my age. But 70, ah yes, is old. And even though I dye my hair, wear mascara and pass for younger than I am, I can’t deny it or fool myself. Seventy is old.

By Hannah --www.FunnyPhotosContest.com a photo contest for cute or funny photos and photo captions.