” Ma’am, are you a Senior Citizen ? ” the bank officer would ask me anytime I stepped into the bank to make a deposit

“No, but do I look like one ?” I used to retort , extremely offended by this remark.

” No , No ” he would mumble apologetically, ” just you get more interest ! ”

“What?” I would ask in mock surprise.

Well for just a measly half percent I certainly wasn’t willing to get grey haired and crinkled. But of course time marches on and on Monday I woke up as a Senior Citizen.

I always knew I would reach this age but with some class mates and contemporaries falling along the way, I would get the occasional doubts : was that sharp shooting pain in the left arm anything alarming ? Was the sudden drop or energy, the excruciating pain, the unexplained palpitations any signs of something sinister happening in my body?

Luckily it was nothing other than normal signs of ageing. So I continued adding a pound every year , some wrinkles to my skin, ridges on my nails and grey in my hair that was growing thinner and frizzier each year. Yes, with my shoes becoming flatter and more sensible, my hearing difficult and my clothes shapeless and comfortable, I have slowly but surely become older.

All of yesterday I got messages from my friends wishing me for my birthday and advice that 60 is young.

Another friend told me that 40 was the oldage of youth but 60 was youth of  old age.

Yet another agreed with me that at 20 we thought 40 was unimaginably ancient.

Some said that I had a lot to be thankful for.

Yet others wished me a stress free year .

All in all it was a wonderful celebration of growing old in the company of family and friends .

60 is liberating- more than 40 . You are more comfortable in your skin. You have come to terms with your reality . You have made peace with most of your dragons and you are in cruise control mode.

Most of my friends who are approaching this milestone birthday are radiating a different kind of calm- an aura of contentment.

Most of them have been there and done that. They have either achieved the goals they had set themselves or accepted the fact that they are never going to do so .

And they are truly living in the now. Some are in better health than they’ve ever been. Some are in better shape than they ever were.

Do you think 60 is the new 40 ?

Looking forward to your views on growing old .

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