When you go to a funeral and take notes, that’s a sign that you’re on the downhill slope. Open casket? Um,no. Big gathering with food and songs? Yes, please!
When you look at your puppy and wonder if you’ll have time for another one. That’s a sign, too.
If you turn on a major news channel and the financial expert looks like he’s in fifth grade, you’re old.
You can also tell that you’re getting on in years when you wake up with sore legs and aching butt muscles because last night you danced to (count ’em) two songs at your brother’s birthday party.
When you realize that it’s worth the wait for an entire year just to get to the two weeks of lilac blossoms, you’ve gained the wisdom of age.
And if you plant a baby spruce tree, just a tiny sprout, and hope that someday someone will call it “majestic”, you know that you’re getting older.
When you suddenly move your tongue around to the place where they pulled out your bottom molar years ago, and you instantly understand the meaning of the idiom “long in the tooth,” that means you’re getting on.
And finally, if you look at the newspaper and the arts pages are filled with kids whose names you don’t recognize, you’re officially old.
Come to think of it, if you look at an actual newspaper, the kind that gets dropped on your doorstep, the kind that you fold and read with your morning coffee…well. If you do that, read a newspaper made of actual paper?
You guessed it, you’re old.
What did I leave out?
Empty Nest, Full Life 
Well, I’m not quite the lady in the picture, but I’m getting there fast. I worry that I made a mistake adopting a kitten when I was 65. Even if I live as long as she does, it may not be in a place that allows cats.
I went to a funeral where the diseased had chosen readings and hymns I want at mine (including some unusual choices), and as I looked at the program before Mass started, I had the creepy feeling I was at MY funeral.
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I keep holding onto some of my dad’s cliches. Like, Getting old sucks, but it beats the alternative. And: Getting old is a privilege if you think about it. And: No one gets out of this life alive. We’re alive now, and we owe it ourselves to enjoy that.
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When your 4 year old granddaughter asks you to bend down, dip your head so she can look at the top and announces, “Yep Grandma, you’re old now. There’s a lot of white hair on top of your head.”
Geez, I can’t even get by with some roots showing anymore between dye jobs because it has become a sure sign that I’m old 🙂
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Hahaha! I remember about 5 years ago when a kindergarten child asked me, “Shouldn’t you have died by now?”
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Oh no!! That is hilarious 🙂 but probably would make me stop and ponder just how old I really looked if a child was contemplating my end.
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So true! I totally empathize. I’m 63 and feel the aging process has been creeping up since I retired, but was too busy before not to notice. But…I have found great joy in my creative journey. Enjoyed your post! ❤
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I’m enjoying your stories and I can see how you notice things that point to ageing but then I read your Wow I had an adventure and that turns it all on its head…your empty nest is setting you up for a very full life if you ask me! Keep adventuring! Everyday ordinary adventuring and keep writing!
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Thank you! What an interesting thing to notice; you’ve given me something to think about as I notice which topics strike me for writing.
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Glad it gets you thinking from a different angle. Lovely stories being shared!
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It’s not just reading an actual paper newspaper, it’s also when you look first at the Obituaries, to see if there is anyone you know there.
Now that, my friend, is old.
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When you start using phrase’s like, “I remember back when,” or “In the days.” 🙂
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Oh, I’m there, trust me!
“When we were kids…..” keeps popping out of my mouth.
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Yes, that’s another common one. 🙂
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In my early fifties and defying age as much as I can, how? Be more silly, play as often as I can, laugh, laugh, laugh, take deep breaths, work like the dickens, rest when I can, and remember that, I ( we all) have earned our right to travel the journey through our older years the way we most want and like.
Loved your post!
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I love your philosophy!
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You nailed it! All of those things show that we are aging. (Not to mention what I see when I look in the mirror.) We certainly have a different perspective at this point in our lives, and in many ways, that’s a good thing. But it’s still a shock when something happens to remind us of just how old we are.
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