Finally realized I'm getting old and its just "there"

[sammytko]

I turned 50 a couple of months ago. I do not feel any different at all. Maybe a little heavier and slower.

Anyway today I was skipping around the commissary doing my monthly shopping and I saw a group of elderly people. Three of them. Two men and 1 woman. The woman was in a riding cart.

She was kind of big. She was thumbing through a small binder calling out coupon brands. They were looking for the best deal.

I stared and had this thought, that I don't want to be there like that. In a rolling chair with my coupons. It scared me.

I vowed not to look at prices of food. Why only food, who knows. I never went hungry growing up. I'm always looking for bargains on clothes. Favorite place is Ross Dress for Less.

It just stayed with me all day.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. My dear sammytko...

Sounds to me as though you are in touch with reality...

And sometimes it takes a jolt like this one to make you realize that...

You have your priorities straight!

And you have all your marbles too.

No mean feat, these days...

You're doing OK!

:hi:

[sammytko]

2. thank you

[Skittles]

3. that old, overweight, sedentary gal still manages to be part of a threesome

look at it that way

[sammytko]

7. you are so right! good for her!

[DFW]

4. Nothin' to it. I did that 8 years ago

I made sure to have my "over-the-hill" party when I turned 21, so as to get it over with.

Besides, like they say, it's better to be over the hill than under it.

[suninvited]

5. do you realize how much money you can save with coupons?

If you get it all organized and learn how to stack them you can get a cart full of groceries for just pennies.

I am almost fifty and I dont use a cart, but I LOVE coupons.

[sammytko]

6. Tried the coupon thing for a while, but would always forget them

I like to just grab what I want as far as food is concerned.

I'm not a spendthrift by any means. I just now ran out of my stash of deodorant. It lasted 7 years. I was shocked to see how the brands have changed. Hard trying to find an unscented gel. Surprised they still make spray.

[grace0418]

12. I never seem to find coupons for food products I actually buy. They all seem to be for processed

food that I try to avoid. Sometimes the sale fliers will have veggies and other fresh foods on sale, but even then I'll only buy certain foods non-organic–like things with thick skins that I throw out anyway. Which leaves out cucumbers, lettuce, berries, greens, apples, peaches, grapes, tomatoes, etc. I'll use coupons for toothpaste and deodorant, but rarely food.

[grasswire]

13. you are right there

The coupons that come in the newspaper and magazines are for mostly processed foods and cleaning products. The only ones I can use are for cat food, it seems.

The weekly ad from the grocers here do have some coupons for various staples. Milk, eggs, butter, canned beans and tomatoes, etc. Those seem to be the most usable. And I always use them.

[Rabrrrrrr]

15. You can only save money if you buy processed shit.

No one offers coupons for produce or the meat counter.

[mike_c]

8. I can totally relate....

I'm 55, and hardly a day goes by that I don't have one of those "just shoot me if I ever get that bad" moments out in public. My GAWD we have become a nation of couch potatoes!

[BillStein]

9. I see old people

When my husband and I bought our condo, we thought the bldg was for seniors- at 56 & 58 we're almost the youngest people there. But I love these people! They're vibrant, open mided, active... everything I hope I can be. My neighbor is pushing 90, and still as sharp as they come. They give me hope!

[lukasahero]

14. Welcome to DU!

I think your positive attitude will help keep you as vibrant as these folks you admire. :hi:

[Mr. Ected]

10. Bought my first pair of reading glasses a couple of weeks ago

I'd been in denial for over a year that I needed them. I did. Desperately.

I turn 50 in September. Lately I've been receiving a lot of mail from AARP. I haven't opened a single envelope, and refuse to until September 24.

Then, I qualify. Now...I'm still a young buck.

[jobycom]

11. Bah! Old is when you feel old.

Just enjoy yourself. If you are stuck in a cart with an income requiring you to clip coupons at a commisary, have a blast at it. Who cares? It's only life. We always focus on what we don't have or used to have instead of what we do have. Live without fear of what you aren't, and with gratitude for what you are.

I'm thinking of applying for a Fortune Cookie Writer job, whaddya think?

[Curmudgeoness]

16. The great thing about getting old is that you don't give a crap

what other people think when they see you doing something geeky. No matter what you do, some young kid will be rolling their eyes at you. Who cares.