It's Official: I'm A Real Senior

Looks like I made it to 65, and I am really glad I did. I have already documented the drawbacks of being this age, but there are plenty of things to celebrate about it.

I have always been outspoken and independent, but at this point it has become unbridled. I do what I want, when I want and with whom I want -- every single day. I go only to functions in which I have an interest, and I have permanently retired my wardrobe of formal wear, which had become significant because of my career in Public Relations. No more cocktail parties with people I must know, but wouldn't, if I didn't have to. No more rubber chicken luncheons and brainless small talk.

Life has become relaxed and quiet enough for me to actually meet and know all my neighbors, their children and their dogs. I stroll when I walk my dog instead of pulling her down the street in an effort to get somewhere on time. I marvel at the number of cardinals I can spot on a given morning, and I watch in amazement as the squirrels play chicken with the cars on the busy street. Most of the time they win; not always, though.

Sometimes this leisurely pace affords an opportunity to see things I would rather not. This morning, for instance, I observed a rat the size of my neighbor's Chihuahua strutting across the patio of a local restaurant carrying Lord knows what in its mouth. These are the kinds of things we expect to happen in a big city, but normally we are moving too fast to see them. This is one of the few times when I wished I was still rushing! Maybe, since I am 65 now, I will actually forget what I saw the next time someone suggests dinner at that particular restaurant.