When I was quite young, I thought middle age was a million years away. In fact, I used to think middle age was quite old. Now that I qualify as middle age,  I’ve changed my thinking. I try not to think about it at all!

It’s a hard thing to put totally out of your mind because so many changes are taking place every day that remind you that you are now middle aged.

Names of people who I’ve known for many years seem to have been erased from my memory bank. On so many occasions I have bumped into someone I know and have become engaged in conversation during which time I frantically searched my mind for their name. I know I know it. It’s right there on the tip of my tongue, but I can’t quite grasp it.

It usually comes to me two or three days later. It’s those times that I feel like calling the person up and telling them that I really do remember their name, but since they didn’t know I had forgotten it in the first place, I just keep quiet.

Song titles, movies I have seen, books I’ve read, all locked up in some deep crevice of my brain that only once in a while can I get to. I’m pretty sure I once had a great memory, but in all honesty I really don’t remember.

My eyesight is not what it used to be either, even with my glasses on. People think I’ve become a snob because sometimes I barely speak, but most of the time I just don’t see who they are until they’re right in front of my face.

I’ve reached the point where I have to wear my glasses just to dress myself. Otherwise my socks, shoes or earrings would never match. It’s so frustrating, this middle age.

It brings about a change of perspective too. Everyone who isn’t around my age or older is too young. I look at some of the officers on the local police force and wonder why they’re not in school. They certainly don’t look old enough to be carrying a gun and enforcing the law. My God, I have undergarments older than they are!

Being active was always important to me. Going to dances, roller skating, sporting events, doing this and that. Now my idea of recreation is curling up in a chair, wrapped in a quilt with a good book and a cup of coffee.

I once strived to stay in shape. I believed that staying in shape would keep me young. I still believe in staying shape, but I’ve decided that my shape is oval and since I’m already there, I don’t have to work too hard at it. It’s amazing how we justify things to accommodate middle age.

There are two shocking events that happen when you reach middle age. One is the first time you hear someone refer to you as that “older person.” The second is when you run into someone you haven’t seen in a long time and are startled to see how much they have aged, then realize they are the same age as you, no doubt, thinking the same thing about you.

The way I see it, middle age also has its merits. I’m wiser, calmer and more accepting than in my youth. Things don’t upset me the way they used to. I’m not even that concerned about old age because it’s many years away. Even as it gets closer, I think it will always be at least 15 years older than whatever age I am currently.