I Didn’t Really Feel Old Until This Happened

Intellectually, we all know we're getting older. Time marches on - but I never noticed it that much, until this happened.

When we're young, we pretty much think we're invincible. We're thinking about today, not about the future. And, more or less, we feel the same way as we age. We feel pretty good. Even if we don't feel great, we're not really feeling our age most of the time.

Except when that one thing happens that makes you feel your age...if not older.

That thing happened to me yesterday: I got a prescription for bifocals.

Mind you - I've never worn glasses except for some cheaters when I read at night. To say that the idea of bifocals was a shock to me is an understatement. In fact, I made everyone in the store call them "my special glasses" so I wouldn't have to hear them say bifocals.

I get it. Some of you have been wearing glasses - even bifocals - for years, maybe decades. But I wasn't. This feels like the optic equivalent of a walker with tennis balls on the back legs.

I have this theory that your brain just picks an age an kind of sticks with it. Like, I think I'm 32. So when something comes along that doesn't jive with being 32, I don't like it. I'm dealing with the wrinkles and the gray hair - although now I realize it's probably just because I haven't really been able to SEE THEM.

My name is Beth, and I wear bifocals.

(I'll just be over here crying and taking my Geritol.)

When did you feel "old"? If you still don't, how do you avoid feeling that way? Send your thoughts to beth@lite987.com