A Guide to the Senior Mind

I never really considered myself a senior until I received my AARP card in the mail the week I turned 50. Now I"m fast approaching 60 and it"s somewhat hard to ignore. I remember when, just a few years back, I thought that 80 was ancient an now I"m not so sure. But I have noticed that I am changing and looking at my life a bit differently. I wonder if other senior citizens are of the same ilk? They must be because I read about some of these thoughts in the AARP magazine articles. So, as a public service to those who are of our age group and the other boomers who are slowly joining us, I am writing this article.

There are many issues that seniors face but some that stand out more than others. With all our worldly experience, you would think that we could cope better. That depends on how well we adapt and how much we can accept change itself. Here are some examples, in no particular order:

• Most technology drives us crazy. Especially the remote with all those other needless extra buttons.
• We still think about sex, but aren"t always able to perform at previous levels.
• We tend to forget certain things but we can"t remember what they are.
• We have certain body functions that are out of control. Some result in embarrassment so we don"t talk about them in public.
• We worry more about small aches and pains but take lots of vitamins figuring that should cure just about everything anyway.
• We don"t get the likes of Brittany Spears, Paris Hilton, or Justin Timberlake, or, depending on our age, we don"t recognize their names.
• We can"t understand the current hip hop or rap music and it"s always too loud.
• We pay more attention to news about social security and Medicare.
• We wonder about how our money will last if we live to be 100.
• We think and ponder how the past decade slipped by so quickly.
• We drive past a retirement home and have mixed emotions.
• We dye our hair and think it will make us look younger. Even though we"re 80.
• We try to keep up with the latest computers, email, and programs because we realize that they are important research tools and can help us keep in touch.
• We wonder if the younger people could even imagine a world of black and white TV, no microwave s or cell phones.
• We drive more cautiously and buy cars that are more practical than good looking.
• We still use terms like spiffy, groovy, cool, and swell.
• We worry about our kids, although they are in their twenties, thirties, forties, etc.
• We know we may be older, but we are still smart and need to pass on our knowledge to the next generation, or the world will end as we know it.

That"s about all the ideas I have on that subject for now. I need to stop and go to the bathroom anyway. And I think it"s time to take my afternoon pills. So, with that said, if I can come up of any more I"ll feature them in a follow-up article if I can remember the name of this website.

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