There’s no magic preparation for the upside or the downside of being a senior citizen.

By the time you are one, most of the advice-givers of childhood are gone and all of a sudden you can do what you want. Much of what you want to do is history, but never mind, it’s a great feeling.

No one tells you that by the time you have reached maturity, people will forgive you for ignoring them – they think you can’t hear them because of your advanced age. In some cases this is not true. It’s one of the choices you can make, as a senior citizen!

It’s acceptable when you’re an older woman, to leave the house on an impulse and not bother to apply a full face of makeup – I’ve seen women my age in a full head of curlers, but I haven’t gotten that casual yet.

Sometimes you’re able to have heavy things carried, lifted or moved if you groan a little and there’s a younger person nearby who has a conscience. This doesn’t always work, so don’t push it.

One of the things I like best about being older is that it becomes easier to say “no” when asked to volunteer, bake a cake or type 20 pages for someone. It’s not a lie to say you just don’t have the time. Especially if you’re going to take a nap, instead. Naps are part of the criteria of being a senior.

When you’re older, it’s simple to choose between going out to lunch with a friend or finishing your housework. You know the housework will wait for you but how many chances will you have to visit with an old friend?

No one prepares you for the age-related curse you get from the teenager who’s about to cut you off in traffic. As they give you the finger and call you an old (fill in the blank), you silently condemn teenagers in general. It helps if you’re a woman, for you’ve already encountered these circumstances throughout life.

You discover, as you age, that everyone younger has a solution. They think you must be bored, so they encourage you to “do something” – even if you are already doing what you want. The major magazines and media provide lists of events categorized under For Seniors Only – when, truly, you’d enjoy doing what other age groups do.

What the younger generation doesn’t understand is that some of us don’t care whether we’re active – we like not having to rush here and there or meet new people or “interact” with others. We’ve been there and done that and it’s old hat to us. We do enjoy doing things with people our own age, simply because we’re all more or less alike. For one thing, we know how to relax!

As a person gets older, their health becomes of prime importance. Diets are discussed instead of the kids’ Little League game of the night before. Prescription comparison takes the place of gossip about the neighborhood; the best type of hair color or something magic to generate hair, is the latest discovery and serious attention is paid to this news.

Sometimes we talk about what we should have done when we were younger – to be more fit, to be more content, to be more secure. When we were young, and older people were giving us advice, we ignored them. Just as we’re ignored today when we dispense this same, free advice.

The best part of getting older, is that it happens! Some of it’s good, some of it’s questionable, but it’s wonderful to be able to deal with it!