June 24, 2011

You Know You’re Getting Old When . . .

a fellow customer at the market politely asks if you need help unloading your shopping cart.

Shirley and my ages average a little over 70. But we are generally in great condition. I’m in better condition now than I was in my 50s. I weigh 40 pounds less. My blood pressure and cholesterol are lower. I eat better and I get a lot more exercise. There is little, if anything, that I can’t do now that I could do when I was 50. I may even be stronger than I was then. Yes, my face has aged and my hair is thinner and grayer and I take a few more pills but that’s about it.

So I was taken aback when a very polite man in his 50s asked me this morning if I needed help unloading our shopping cart. He seemed particularly concerned with my ability to deal with a 20 lb. bag of cat litter. I smiled and said, “Thanks, I can manage it; I need the exercise.”

Now there may come a day when I do need help with a 20 lb. bag of cat litter, so I really didn’t want to discourage his kind offer. But in a certain way, I was offended. Here was a man of an age that only a few years ago I would have considered old, asking me if I needed help with a routine task.

Posted by Duane Smith at June 24, 2011 1:21 PM | Read more on Odds and Ends |

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Comments

I was on an overcrowded bus just last month -- from Poggibonsi to Florence (a trip of 65 minutes)-- when a young woman offered me her place and, for the first time in my life, I accepted. I sat. You know you're getting old when ...

Posted by: judith weingarten at June 24, 2011 1:56 PM

;-) Smile! Savor these moments. They too will pass. You did not realize that you had entered a new room? Look around. There are many things here that will interest you. Reflection comes later.

Posted by: Pascvaks at June 25, 2011 5:45 AM

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