I look in the mirror and see: Susan.
Others look at me, and see a senior citizen.
It's not just the last 24 hours. There was the woman at the gym who didn't understand why I hadn't considered Silver Sneakers exercise classes. The aqua aerobics instructor who asked if I was going to the luncheon at the Senior Center.
Then, yesterday, the eye doctor who said my blurry vision was caused by cataracts.
Cataracts?! I gasped. People my age get cataracts???
Yes, he nodded, scanning my chart for my age, 50% of people over 62 have cataracts.*
I'm 58; but to him, I am appropriately aged for cataracts.
Today at the coop, the cashier cautiously wondered if I'd be using the Tuesday discount.
What discount?
For seniors, she explained, over 62.
My perception of myself has clearly not caught up with reality.
Reality gallops apace, while I remain: Susan.
*FWIW: I checked the NIH statistics. Only 15.54% of 62-year-olds have cataracts. Among white people my age, the rate is 8.84%.
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1 comment:
Those little 'reality checks' defy what I see in the mirror. Of course I have quite a few years on you, but I'm not yet 65.
Two of my childhood best friends needed cataract surgery in their mid-50's. I wonder if it is that because when we started wearing glasses they had not started putting the UV filtering coatings on the lenses.
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