Thursday, July 3, 2008

My Senior Moment


I am hardly in the first flower of youth.

I suppose it was the moment that had to come some time. I have posted in the past about age and how old one feels. I certainly don't feel my age and I have no idea what 49 and almost three-quarters is supposed to feel like.
That said, I don't think I look it either. The face that greets me in the mirror is somewhere in its 40s but doesn't really speak to a specific age.
I'm getting a few more grey hairs. I will keep them and wear them proudly. They are paid for.
However, because I still feel young the following caught me quite off guard.
I was in a local grocery store on Canada Day. That particular store has senior's discount day the first Tuesday of each month. Good for them.
The young woman behind the till asked me, "You're not a senior, are you?"
"Huh?"
"You're not a senior, are you?"
"Uhmm, no."
She smiled and said something else that made no impression on me whatsoever. My mind was still reeling over her question.
Granted, she phrased it in the negative which helped soften the blow, but still I wasn't expecting the question for many more years.
Both my parents were young looking. Mom did not get grey hair until well into her 70s and dad did not have many wrinkles until he got sick. In fact, he was in the U of A Hospital for a variety of ailments when he was in his mid-70s and the nurses marvelled at his complexion and begged him for his secret.
"I moisturize," he told them. And he did. Ever day after shaving he put Noxzema skin cream on his face. (I am not shilling for Noxzema.)
I use sweet almond oil on my face every night and it has probably helped considerably.
Perhaps it was just the grey that prompted the question. It's hard to tell ages, too, so maybe she was just playing it safe so I wouldn't get all upset and demand my 10 per cent and her head off for not asking.
Sigh.
Anyway, I hadn't anticipated the question. Not yet. Not this early.
On the bright side, at least it's out of the way.

But neither am I setting seed.

16 comments:

the Bag Lady said...

Ah, at least it's out of the way! And the Bag Lady can relate - remember the little kid telling her she looked like a grandma?! Gave me the same "WTF?" feeling. (Along with prompting the hair colouring/cutting session!)

Leah J. Utas said...

Oh, right. Yes. I'd forgotten you'd already had your moment in the sun.

Fortune Cookies said...

I've been asked when I was due, and had my belly touched...I'm not, nor have I ever been,p...p... pregnant. Different, but kind of the same. I'm glad to hear you say you are keeping your grey. I am too. Each one I get is like a little tiny badge of honor. I wear them proudly. More women should think that way, I believe.

Leah J. Utas said...

I like your attitude about the grey, FC. Good for you. I agree we should wear them proudly.

the Bag Lady said...

Oh, I do wear my grey(?) proudly, I just have to tint it a little so I don't blind anyone with it's whiteness....

Missicat said...

You have to remember that to young kids, all of us over 40 are "old".
I just hate when they call me "ma'am". AAAHHHH!

Leah J. Utas said...

Oh yeah Missicat. The Ma'aming grates.

Hilary said...

Senior.. ugh. I'm not going there willingly. I don't colour the stray grey.. I yank 'em out! There's probably a whole bunch of them that I can't see in the back of my head. ;)

Reb said...

I am fighting the grey tooth and nail! Mind you I am younger than you and have so much more. Once it is all grey though, I may just let it go. Or not. So far I have avoided the granny/senior moments, but I think it is just a matter of weeks, maybe months.

Leah J. Utas said...

That'll show 'em, Hilary. Good for you.

Maybe if you prepare and know the moment is coming it won't be as startling, Reb.

Thomma Lyn said...

Well, I turned forty just this past December, and though I don't have a lot of gray in my hair, I have a little which I am, so far, coloring. Right now, it's just a bit around my temples, but when the gray hairs get so numerous that spot-coloring is unfeasible, I'll let them take over. :-D

Yes, at least it's out of the way!

When I get the question "You're not a senior, are you?", I'm going to respond:

"No, I'm not a senior. I graduated from high school two years ago."

LOL!

Terrie Farley Moran said...

Thomma Lynn,

Great response.

df Leah,

As the oldie but goodie of this group, I will say that I have been coloring my hair for twenty years and will probably do so for another ten or fifteen. I'll be 62 next week. And I do think that there is a point where the wrinkles make the dyed hair look silly, but I am not there yet!

That trite old line, "you are only as old as you feel" is absolutely true.

I did get my comeuppance in a playground about four years ago. I was with my grandson and as kids will, for absolutely no reason some little boy I don't know came up to me and said, "I'm four."

I looked at him and said, "Oh yeah, well, I'm fifty eight."

He sized me up for a minute and then said, "That's a really big number."

I said. "Yes it is."

So folks we're not getting old, we just have really big numbers and in the playgrounds of the world, that's something to be proud of!

Terrie

Leah J. Utas said...

TL that is a great response. Have fun using it.

dfTerrie- That's a great way to look at it. Big numbers and pride in the playground.

Anonymous said...

I like it!Have a nice 4th!

Frank Baron said...

For decades, I resented the fact I looked much younger than my age. I would (mock) complain about being asked to show proof of age when in my mid-30s.

Then, sometime in my 50s, I was betrayed by both gravity and time and suddenly looked my age.

Oh well. I had a pretty good run for a guy who never moisturized. ;)

You go keep foolin' them into your 90s!

Leah J. Utas said...

Hi, Mark.

Ooohhh, that danged gravity. Can't turn your back on it. Thanks, Frank. I'll do my best to keep 'em guessing.