Is old an age? Is old an attitude? Is old just the opposite of young, nothing more?
I’m wondering if old is when anything amiss in your body is attributed to having lived to old age. The only answers for your physical malady, is you’ve “aged out.” It’s because you’re old, dude.
If old means that you have literally been “in use” since a distant past, some aspects of you have deteriorated and no longer remain in top form. However, being advanced in years suggests that you may perhaps know some stuff that those less advanced have not yet learned.
Is old determined by how you walk, smell, or look? Does your doctor tell you when you’re old?
Are you old when you “turn” a certain age? Hopefully you haven’t “turned” like fruit that has gotten too ripe. Are you as old as you think?
One used to be old when we qualified for AARP discounts. So, fifty is old?
Is old relative to the age of the observer? Twenty is old to a five-year-old. Ninety is old to a seventy-year-old. Thirty is old to a teenager.
Do aches and pains tell you you’re old? Is old all in your head? Must cranky be synonymous with old?
Is there an objective indicator of old? Just like the BMI Index is skewed as to whether you’re too fat or too skinny, please tell me the insurance industry isn’t in charge of coming up with the objective definition of old.
Is it old when you can’t do this, that, or the other thing anymore? The implication here is that you “used to” do it but in recent history you suddenly can no longer do it. Are you old now?
Are you old when you can no longer eat anything you want anytime you want? Are you old when you have a personal relationship with “your” doctor?
Are you old if you’re wondering if you’re old? Does shopping specifically on Tuesdays mean you’re old?
Is everybody old also wise, experienced and mature? Do you have to be old to be wise? I’m pretty sure that I’ve encountered some immature old people.
The Old Norse origin of the word old means “to nourish.” Do you find your primary role in life is nourishing others?
Are you old if you dress for comfort? Are comfortable shoes a telltale indicator of age, like your turkey neck or gnarly hands?
Is “I’m not getting older, I’m getting better,” a stupid slogan? Is “eighty years young,” equally sort of silly?
These phrases just seem like we’re trying too hard when we’re supposed to not care so much about what everybody thinks when we’re old. Or is that just in geriatric movies, self-help programs and books?
If you’re young and you trip over a rug or a crack on the sidewalk, it’s attributed to being in a rush or too much on your mind. If you’re old and do the same thing it’s because of instability: mental, arterial, joint, muscular – you’re on shaky ground if you’re old.
Just watch the rug being pulled out from under you when you’re old. You can pull off that magic trick of jerking the tablecloth out from under the full bone-china and crystal service when you’re young. When you’re old, you’d better try the trick with plastic, paper, or maybe melamine.
Are you old when you start to have trouble operating someone else’s clicker, automobile, microwave, or faucet? If it’s not easy anymore to turn on a dime, are you old?
Are you old if you have a pair of reading glasses in every room in your house, your car, and your pocket? If you have more than a passing concern if it’s indigestion or a heart attack, are you old?
When you stretch hard and get a cramp in your leg, are you old? Do you ever think, “I’m being dismissed because they think I’m old?”
Years ago, when I’m pretty sure I wasn’t old, years ago, mind you, I was with my adult daughter in a big box store. At check-out my card wouldn’t work and I knew it was okay but the attendant on hand said to my daughter, ignoring me entirely, “sometimes THEY don’t remember that they didn’t pay THEIR card!”
I gently went off on her. I explained that of course I sometimes make mistakes, but I co-own a business, and I know what I’m doing with my bank cards and conduct many other technical processes, without incident.
Do you think it’s fair to think, “because I’m a certain age, I deserve…”? Am I old if I don’t want to do “this” anymore.
One dictionary definition of old is, “belonging to the past.” In our house, we like to say, “the past is fulfilled.” We don’t want to belong to the past. It was what it was, and it served its purpose. What’s next?
Old or young, let’s belong to the present and look to the future.