AARP, Cher and 50 is the New 30

Today I heard.....that by some standards, I am considered a senior citizen. Dang that was hard to type and even harder to get my mind around! I really don't know why this surprises me as AARP has been courting me since I was 49. Still though....to me it was a WOW moment to realize that once I hit the 50 (and this year it was 50+1) mark, that suddenly I was ushered into a new world of senior discounts and retirement preparation. The media keeps telling us that 40 is the new 30, but who knew that 50 was the new 70?

I am fully aware that age is mostly in your head and that with a good plastic surgeon and a personal trainer, one might be in their 70's and still look like they are in their 30's or 40's. Case in point....Cher! Granted she is only 67 but darned if she isn't a well preserved 67! I watched her on Dancing with the Stars recently and was literally amazed. Now I am sure the woman probably has no original parts left but she still moves like a woman decades younger.....and in heels mind you......and her voice is still just as amazing as ever. I was in awe and jealous, both at the same time. Heck I look closer to 67 than she does! That's just not right!

So what do you do when you seem to be hanging somewhere between adult and senior citizen? At one store I am still viewed as a vital youngish woman.....therefore I pay full price. Thank you for the compliment.....I think! However.....I can go to certain restaurants at 4 p.m. and get a senior discount for my early bird dinner and possibly an escort to my table so I don't fall and break a hip on the way. Did I mention that this is just not right?

Admittedly there are days when both my mind and my body feel as if I should be sitting in a rocker with my trusty cane next to me. However, most days I still feel about 30ish and on a good day.....I might even dip down into my 20's. It is only when I look closely in the mirror and see those fine lines around my eyes and the random gray hairs that have started to come in not in strands but in clumps that I realize that time moves on and is taking my youth with it. Crap!

I guess the key to this new newfangled aging process is to rock how I feel and not worry about what the calendar, the media or AARP try to tell me. It's my life, my rules and I say.... 50 is the new 30 and you just stick around and watch me prove it!