Tag: senior

Now I’m 60

Today I turned 60. It doesn’t feel much different than yesterday, when I was only 59. Except the number makes me feel, well, old.

I’ve been thinking about getting older — 50s and 60s old, not 40s old. I’ve come up with the following:

  • Nobody says “you don’t look your age” to me any longer.
  • My colleagues ask me if I’m retiring. If the US had a decent healthcare system, then I would be able to retire.
  • I realize anyone I get a crush on is old enough to be my kid. Total buzzkill.
  • Where did all these bruises come from? Oh, yeah, I stumbled over my feet yesterday.
  • I no longer see myself as one of the fresh new authors out there.
  • Two words: Senior Discount
  • My idea of an exciting evening is curling up to watch TikTok (all the clips of medical shows on there!)
  • I feel very young for 60. I don’t know what I expected.

Today is my 55th birthday.

Today is my 55th birthday.

I don’t know what to think about that.

Turning 40 didn’t faze me — it felt no different than the year before. I had just gotten tenure, and I felt like I was at the top of my game.

Turning 50 didn’t faze me — it felt little different than being 40. I didn’t know what all the fuss people made about turning 50 was about.

At age 55, though, I suddenly feel like I have entered into the world of Advancing Age. That’s why 55 bothers me — it’s the age at which “matronly” replaces “sexy”. The age at which I could retire early if I worked at something more lucrative than professoring. The age at which I could join the Red Hat — oh, wait, that was five years ago, something I conveniently forgot. I am officially a ma’am, no longer a MILF (Ok, fine, I never was).

But the thing that really drove my advancing age home to me was that I am finally eligible for Senior Discounts. At no age previously has someone tried to attach the word “senior” to my existence. As long as I felt 35 at age 40, or 40 at age 50, my actual age didn’t matter. But now I can say “I’d like the senior breakfast” and not get carded.

That’s what really makes me feel old. Not that I mind the discount, but …