Aging

Aging is such a strange thing – the more you do it, the better it gets. I remember being a small child and thinking how terribly old my grandparents were. Even as a teenager and young adult, I viewed my parents as being old. And I'm not alone. All kids view their parents as being old. I grew up in a time where grownups definitely acted older than young adults do now. June Cleaver cooked supper wearing a nice dress, heels and pearls. I can only imagine the laughter that would result if a current-day mother was portrayed like that on TV.

I can recall a time in elementary school when the subject of the year 2000 came up. Our teacher mentioned how exciting it would be for us to be alive when the new century began. I didn't laugh out loud, but I quickly did the math in my head and doubted whether or not many of us would actually see the turn of the century – after all, we would be in our late 40's!!! So old! I had a good chuckle when Y2K happened and I was not only still alive but feeling still reasonably young and vital.

It's funny now to look back and realize how young my grandparents were when I was little. My maternal grandfather was only 65 when he passed away......which means my Mom was only 35 when she lost her Dad. So when I was viewing him as old and almost decrepit when he was in his mid 50's. Silly child!

Doing more math makes me realize that Grandma became a widow when she was only 61. Being the tough gal she was, she hiked herself downtown and got a job at the local restaurant. She worked there for a lot of years waiting tables and cooking. She still made a mean burger and fries when I was in college. I remember going to the restaurant one Saturday afternoon with some college friends and everyone loved their meal. Grandma was great – and she could never figure out why we all thought she was so special.

Because there was a 12-year age difference between my folks, I always viewed Dad as being old. Mom got a pass because I knew she was only 22 when I was born. But I had a little jolt when we moved into the apartment and it hit me that Mom was the same age I am now when she moved in.

As much as I used to dread getting older, I find myself now wishing time would go a little faster. Talk about wishing your life away! But when I hit this next birthday, I'll be able to start collecting Social Security. Since we are living in H.U.D. Housing, our rent is income-based, and they take into consideration the cost of medical expenses, insurance expenses, and such when figuring individual rent expenses. But because I'm not 62 yet, my expenses weren't considered. So once I hit this magic birthday, we can use my health insurance costs to help offset our income. Of course, we'll also have my Social Security added to our income. Hmmm, a bit of a conundrum.

Still, turning 62 is going to be a good thing. And that means just three more years and I can start Medicare. And so I will finally be able to stop looking over my shoulder to see if there's some medical issue sneaking up on me that my health insurance won't cover. It will be nice to reach the end of that anxiety.

Yep, getting older is looking better and better. I'm glad that I'm still here to see what the next few years will bring. When I turn 62 in December, I just might throw myself a party!