Ageism is No Joke

Today is #AgeismAwarenessDay. So when I was forwarded The New York Times opinion piece, "What They Don't Tell You About Getting Old," I halfway expected it to be something uplifting, perhaps about the upsides of aging (and YES, there ARE upsides!).

Alas, that was not the case.

Instead, it was a lamentation on some of the difficulties that sometimes come with getting older: endless doctor's appointments; challenges getting out of cars, walking up stairs, and even making it across a room without falling; memory loss. The Top Ten List of the Ageist Stereotype Hit Parade. All of course, written in "jest."

So in response, here are a few OTHER things they don't tell you about getting older--from a different, healthier point-of-view:
1) AGING. IS. LIVING. And if you embrace its positives, it MORE than beats the alternative.
2) With older age comes perspective, knowledge, and wisdom--all of which are good things, regardless of whether anyone asks you to share yours.
3) You no longer care (very much) about what other people think, so you feel freer to live life on your own terms. A little nip every afternoon? A tattoo on your butt? Ice cream for dinner? Hell, YES!
4) You. Don't. Feel. Old. Yes, it's true. You may not feel like you did in your 20's (thank heavens), but nor do you feel how you'd thought you'd feel in your 60's, 70's, and beyond. THIS is possibly the BEST KEPT SECRET of getting old

As I write this post, I am sitting here in a boot--a souvenir of rolling my ankle and breaking my foot while walking down the hall in relatively flat shoes. Was it the result of being 63? NO. Was it the result of being a klutz? YEP.

So today, on #AgeismAwarenessDay, I reject the notion--even those conveyed in "jest"--that getting older is somehow a bad thing. To me, it's a welcome part of life--and it's high time we started celebrating and appreciating it. And THAT IS NO JOKE.