Getting Older, Getting Old

I've been thinking about the difference between getting older, and getting old.

One time honored adage says, "Age is a state of mind." Well, try and tell that to the elderly. I've spent some time with relatives in nursing homes, and I'm not looking forward to the future. After a certain point, whatever is going on in one's mind, if anything at all, is questionable. For some, the mental process seems to turn toward things that never really happened, or a sort of crazy time/space jump back to things that happened long ago. On occasion, it seems as though it might be fun to do, even if you're the only one in the experience.

Getting older is good. It feels good to be mature and accepted by society. Maturity brings with it a degree of freedom. You can do things without getting scolded, or reported to the principal. You can go farther away from home to do bad things so that no one you know will see. Eventually, if you live long enough, you can even get to drive fast, and drink lots. Getting older is good.

Then, one day, you realize you're searching for that imaginary line called "life expectancy," and then divide buy two, to locate the point where there's now less time ahead of you than there is behind. You start to watch your diet, exercise more, and begin cutting back on bad habits. You go to bed earlier, but sleep less. You admire an attractive member of the opposite sex, and recall with a certain fondness when it had meaning other than a mere appreciation for beauty. This is called, "Getting Old".