I can’t think of anything more important to me than old age! No one ever told me about old age and how it was going to change my life and everything that I had believed was true, and that I would have to change all my thinking.

First, let me tell you that with a few exceptions, old age sucks! I know that many of you will disagree because when you get old, you are definitely smarter. I certainly agree. However, at least for me, my body has given up and I have become an old crippled woman in a matter of months. And, trust me, I hate it! It isn’t that I mind getting old, it is that it happened so fast and I didn’t see it coming.

I would be very remiss if I didn’t mention leg cramps when I discuss old age. I get such terrible leg cramps that wake me up, like I have been hit by a bomb. And although I leap out of bed, gobble down my faithful Hyland’s Leg Cramps pills and gulp down tonic water as Malcolm rushes for an ice pack, I really don’t enjoy the experience. I hate leg cramps for obviously many reasons but the prime one is I never see them coming! And I firmly believe that if you can figure out a cure for leg cramps you can be the richest person in the world.

The other part about growing or being old is this; you are discriminated against and really treated as if you are stupid or a dope and need someone to help you through life’s daily issues. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want or need anyone to join me when I am talking to my doctor, etc. And believe it or not, lots of young people think that the senior citizen who is in line ahead of them is obviously old, stupid and unworthy of any respect. Can you imagine behaving like that toward a senior when you were young?

Think back and no one has been more interesting or exceptional than the elderly Eleanor Roosevelt or Nelson Mandela. And there are so many more senior citizens and elder statesmen who have changed our country for the better. So, although I am trying to crawl my way through old age, I will assure you that even though it isn’t the way I thought it would be, I am going to soldier on and pretend that old doesn’t mean incompetent… maybe just a little slower!