Why all the doom and gloom about the ageing process? We can’t wait. Bus passes, less stress, more time to spend on hobbies – yes please! Here are seven reasons to embrace getting older:
Reason to embrace getting older 1: You’re all kitted out
The further we advance into old age, the more we seem to have acquired useful possessions that most people may never have even thought of. Collecting paraphernalia over the years is fantastic because it means we can do pretty much anything without having to hit the shops first to buy special items. Vintage fashion is back in? Perfect – we kitted our wardrobe out for this trend back in the 1950s. You need a melon baller? No probs – there’s one in the cutlery drawer. It’s so handy!
Reason to embrace getting older 2: Less spots and more laughter lines
As we get older our skin tends to get drier, which means less chance of spots (hooray!). This is great news as we no longer have to worry about the dermatological impact of eating a greasy pizza when we need a little pick-me-up. We may have wrinkles instead of spots, but we don’t call them wrinkles; we call them “laughter lines”. Laughter lines are great because they remind us of all the times we’ve laughed until our ribs hurt – funny memories are one thing that plastic surgery and fillers won’t give us.
Reason to embrace getting older 3: You’re one wise owl
Grandma was right all along – it has been scientifically proven that older really does mean wiser. Researchers from the University of California scanned the brains of 3000 Californians aged between 60 and 100, and found that older people – despite having a slower reaction time – are remarkably good at making decisions because of the lower levels of dopamine in their brains. The high level of dopamine in younger brains often leads the younger generation to react to difficult situations emotionally rather than logically. Older people are less likely to be fuelled by emotion and more likely to make well-informed decisions. If anyone’s facing a tough decision, just come to us.
Reason to embrace getting older 4: Less stress
Forget the”grumpy old man” label. As we get older, we seem to leave the hardest parts of life behind us. Finding our way through the tangled web of our teenage years, careers, and parenthood were difficult; now as we’ve done all that, we can relax and look back on it all with fond memories. Old age means less stress, and less stress means we have more time for family, hobbies, and general happiness. Whether it’s the hummingbirds feeding on the fuchsias you planted, or the sound of the rain pattering on the shed, take advantage of the finer points of life now as you’re given the chance. Don’t mind if we do!
Reason to embrace getting older 5: Discounts, discounts, discounts
Concessions, discounts, offers for OAPs, senior citizens passes ... we don’t care how they word it to avoid offending us, we’re just happy to have had some kind of recognition that we’ve made it to this age. Don’t be shy about revealing your real age when it comes to discounts – look out for places that do special offers and reap the benefits. You’ve lived this long, you may as well cash in on the accomplishment. That’s one more part of getting older for us to do our happy dance about (if our knees can still take it).
Reason to embrace getting older 6: Getting away with being cheeky
As we advance into our senior years, it seems easier to get away with being cheeky by using our hearing aids or other ‘old person’ paraphernalia to our own advantage. If your hearing has become a little less effective than it used to be, use your hearing aid to your advantage by cracking out some cheeky one-liners such as “we needed to do the washing up? Oh sorry I didn’t hear you - the old hearing aid’s playing up. It’s done now? Never mind then”. Tricking people so you can get away with being cheeky is a definite plus side to getting older. Was that a slip of your walking stick, or did you really just push your way to the front of the queue?
Reason to embrace getting older 7: You’re confident
We have finally accepted our bodies the way they are and no longer ponder how much nicer we’d look with bigger boobs or better abs like we did in our teenage years. If we go out looking a little worse for wear, others see it as endearing rather than lazy. Similarly, if we have visitors round to our homes it’s okay not to have our cupboards stacked full of exotic drinks and food; for our guests, a cup of tea and a carrot cake will do just fine.