But those posts were about GETTING old.
How do you know when you have actually gotten there?
When you are really once and for all OLD?
Well, my peeps, I am here to tell you.
You know you are old when...
You still write checks, especially at the grocery store.
And I hate to tell you this. No one writes checks anymore. Only old folks. And NO ONE likes waiting in line for you to write that check. OLD!
You have a landline.
Practically everyone is using their cell phone for everything. Again, OLD!
You still do your taxes by hand on paper forms and mail them in.
But not before going to the library and giving the librarians a hard time about their now having all of the forms you need (The IRS doesn't even send libraries all of those forms anymore). OLD!
And speaking of libraries, you think libraries are only about books.
Or worse yet, you think libraries should only HAVE books, when libraries are providing a wealth of materials, Internet access and classes, not just for children and young people, but for the likes of old folks too! Materials and services that can change your life. If you didn't know or appreciate that, OLD!
Your ears have gotten really big.
I just saw Ringo Starr on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon and his ears were gy-normous! OLD!
You still subscribe to a print newspaper.
Remember those? If you do, OLD!
When you text, you use your index finger to poke out the message.
Oh? Text? Not sure what I am talking about? OLD!
For you guys out there, when you go to take a pee, you pull down your fly and reach in and can't find your little soldier!
Because you put your underpants on backwards! OLD!
You don't know how to use the Internet and are proud of that because you think the Internet would try to steal your identity.
Or worse yet, you don't use Facebook because you think it would steal your soul. And you think that Tinder is all about booty calls.
Well, you are right about Tinder...
You think a selfie is something people do in private behind closed doors.
And for you ladies, you think it's OK to stop wearing make-up, to wear a stained sweat suit all day and ride the motorized cart at the supermarket even though you can walk perfectly well.
You've given up on yourself and that's about as OLD as you can get.
But you know what?
I know I'm old. And I am guilty of some of the above (except for the one about underpants - Hubby has to claim that one- and the one about giving up on myself)!
But big ears and putting your underpants on backwards notwithstanding,
what does it really mean to be OLD?
You may have lost your hair, have wrinkles, gained weight, feel rickety, but it's all good.
"Old" is not a bad word. It means you have made it this far.
Think of the "crone," from the goddess standpoint, or the wizard for men.
Whether you think "old" is 55 or 85, the longer you live, the more you are becoming an old soul, and what you have gained is wisdom. You know some stuff.
You know what happiness is.
It's not success, it's not money, it's not accolades.
Happiness is a state you can create for yourself through gratitude. It's appreciating that what most people equate with happiness is overrated.
Happiness is that small still voice within that says...I am content.
You know that getting old is not just an age. It's a state of mind that we have control over.
We may be old but we don't have to be or feel old.
It's being self-aware and knowing yourself. No matter what state you are in, it's being glad you got this far.
And if you live to be OLD, you get to live to be a part of all of this:
And that's not just getting OLD, that's getting happy.
Thanks for Reading!
See you Friday
for my review of the new movie
"While We're Young"
(apropos, right?)
(apropos, right?)
and
The Week in Reviews
(What to See or Read and What to Avoid)
and the latest on
"My 1001 Movies I Must See Before
I Die Project."