September 18th, 2018 will be a day I’ll remember for at least a few days. Placing my order like I had a thousand times before, at our local bagel shop, I looked down at the cash register screen showing my total and there it was, the words, Senior Discount. Not even fifty-five yet and the cashier had sized me up as an old guy. Hey, it meant saving sixty-six cents off an everything bagel and drink but, ow, that hurt.
I guess that means I’ll soon be getting one of those blue, handicap, hang tags and shopping for Geritol at the Walgreens but some things sure seemed farther off than I had expected.
As each decade ticks away, new milestones are hit and new things begin to hurt. My fifties have been an adventure of colonoscopies, having bosses that are younger than me and more than a few grey hairs. I feel like I’ve lived a lifetime and a half of experiences that I wouldn’t trade (ok, maybe some of them) for anything. Summers seem hotter, winters seem colder. My bride of nearly 30 years and I have grown closer and that has been one of the wonderous and beautiful things of aging.
There is still much life to live. I’ve come to realize this season is a lot about pouring into others just like many did for me. So hey, why not receive a little senior discount now and then, it’s a way of recognizing we have experienced a lot of life and a simple way to say thank you.
Now, where did I put my car keys?
Greg