Pass the Manual on 'Being Old'
As far as I know, there is no Manual on ‘Being Old’, there’s plenty written about ‘Getting Old’ and the content vastly depends on the age of the writer at the time.
Being Old is something else entirely. I think I can safely say that being 90 years old does qualify as old, though this might change as now the 70’s are the new 50’s…
For every stage of life there is some kind of Manuel:
- Becoming a Teenager,
- Having Your First Child,
- Being Married,
- Getting Divorced
- Doing Menopause the Right Way
Pass Me the Manual on 'Being Old'
There are no books on 'BeingOld'
- Choosing Designer Dentures,
- The Multiple Benefits of Wrinkles,
- Joys of Wearing an Adult Diaper,
- How to be Deaf around Your Children,
- How to Lose things Creatively,
- When Being the ‘Have to Invite Guest’ is fun,
- How to have an Adventure out of losing Stuff,
- Why is Your Mirror Lying…
Pass Me the Manual on 'Being Old'
Outwardly there are plenty of signs that my body is ageing, therefore I must be too but inwardly regardless of the drooping boobs and chin hair I still feel the same. It’s as if people can’t hear or don’t want to see me. I think we are all scared of ageing and it is because we are scared that it is hidden, not understood, ignored.
Perhaps the first time I understood I was heading toward the elderly category is when I shockingly realised I was wearing the ‘Cloak of Invisibility’! It happened on a flight out of the UK when a seemingly helpful flight attendant completely ignored me but effusively offered the young man next to me another drink!!
Please don’t get me wrong in years gone by ‘The Cloak of Invisibility’ was no 1 on my wish list. Oh, the fun I could have gotten up to with that piece of tech is wicked!
Grace and Frankie illustrate the ‘Cloak of Invisibility brilliantly when they are in a store trying to purchase cigarettes and the store assistant fails to see or hear them but only has eyes for the young Blonde Bombshell.
The assistant is deaf to the pair jumping up and down and screaming at the top of their lungs…Frankie uses the invisibility well and steals the cigarettes saying "can't be seen, can't be caught'.
If we don't want rampant crime by a bunch of scheming 'Elders' we better start taking notice of them now. Being transparent is not good for the ego, it erodes confidence and when all else is failing this can feel like a final nail in the coffin.
I remember a colleague remarking on her invisibility at the age of 50!! so what chance do I have as an 80 yr old?
Pass Me the Manual on 'Being Old'
This really pisses me off, our world is so biased towards the young and beautiful however the moment you have a chip in your armour, you are sent to the rubbish heap.
This is the nature of our society and to some extent, I claim partial responsibility for this. None of the years on this earth have I ever spent time dedicating myself to the plight of the invisible and this section must number almost 50%. Now that I am invisible it matters to me, how short-sighted I have been…
This has to change as the 50% is growing and will soon outnumber the visible!!The norms have to change.
I think change is in the hands of the 'Boomers' as soon each one of us will pass through this door of invisibility and from what I understand of the Boomer generation ‘it’s not happening on their watch!!’
OK, Boomers what you going to do about it?
How are you going to change it?
Thank you for stopping by, if you enjoyed this post, you may enjoy my other posts here:
https://steemit.com/parents/@mysixtypluslife/aristocrats-do-not-have-dementia https://steemit.com/parents/@mysixtypluslife/some-parents-go-rogue https://steemit.com/ageing/@mysixtypluslife/my-years-and-my-mirror-say-i-am-old