Questions and Answers

What are the landmark birthdays?  1,5,13,16,18,21,25,30,40,50,60,65,70,75,80,85,90,95,100?

Well, today I’ve reached the one almost in the center of the top listing (does that still make it middle-age?), so officially I am now a Senior Citizen, though I know for some benefits that age has dropped to 55 and even 50.

As many of my generation have gotten older, it has become popular to  confront our ages by making  them seem less old than our parents or grandparents by creating the “is-the-new” model: 30 is-the-new 20, 40 is-the-new 30, 50 is-the-new 40, and so on.

In that case, though birthdays at any life-stage have never concerned me, as far as I can remember, I’ll make 65 the-new-45. Why not? Where was I at 45 and what was I doing?  Let me think.

To put it into perspective. Gertrude was 60 at the beginning of the U.S. lecture tour. Alice was 77 when her cookbook was published. I wasn’t born at the beginning of the U.S. lecture tour and was 5 when the cookbook was published.

One of Gertrude’s quotes which has joined the ranks of greeting card quips is her take on age.  It’s a very simple set of words, but quite profound:

“We are always the same age inside.”

I’ve always liked that and especially today as I reflect on landmark birthdays of the past (at least ones I can remember), I’ll use it as today’s mantra, so that my body and mind clearly get the message, as a very fulfilled life goes on.

Thanks again Gertie.