Old age is like a plane flying through a storm. Once you are aboard there is nothing you can do.
Golda Meir
Isn’t that the truth.
Even when I want to say…get me the hell off.
I am not ready for this yet.
For the irrelevance thrust on me.
Rendered invisible. Packed in behind the younger.
Respect once earned upended in the turbulence of senior discounts…
now that you’re 50…60…over 60….doors start to shut. Deaf ears abound.
Forgetting one too many things
Which 20 years ago went unnoticed.
Or commented on.
Not now.
Mask floating down. Got it.
Pulling the life vest cords. Got it.
I tell the younger kin I am not this old inside my head.
They nod. Eyes looking beyond. Already past me.
Uncomprehending…until it’s their aged faces staring back at them.
That’s what she meant.
There will be no mad dash for the exits.
Even in an emergency.
I’m on this ride for the duration. Wind. Rain. Thunder.
Wrinkles. Gray hair. Early dinners. Early to bed.
System slowdowns. Bumpy rides. Love and loss.
Dried up everything, but oozing with wisdom.
Experience.
And ideas. Just ask.
But they won’t.
Whatever.
The longer I’m on this stormy plane ride, the wiser I get.
Not my first rodeo.
So there.
2019…more transitions…
…the next leg on my Golden Years journey.
Seatbelt fastened and secure.
Building up those frequent flyer miles.
Wheels up.
This post inspired by: V.J.’s Weekly Challenge – Transition
one letter UP ~ diary 2.0 
I love it, you capture the essence of ageing and how the young sometimes look at us, or beyond us. One day we all get there and know what it is like. That ride is bumpy but we are on and getting wiser.
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Thank you! It is a bumpy ride but let’s all hold on 🙂
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Applause! Very well put! Love the opening quotation and all your examples – bang on.
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Thanks so much. So glad you liked it. And thank YOU for the inspirational challenge.
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I am so there with you! I have the hardest time because I know I am not this old inside my head. And it is something we never understood about our parents, but, ah, now we do. Thanks for summing it up all so well.
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Thank you!
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I love the range of emotions you expressed in this post! 🙂
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Thank you!
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I used to look like that at my grandmother may she rest in peace and now I wish I had listened more. Great post! 🙋
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Thank you so much!
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