No Big Deal!
Well, it turns out that being 80 is just like being 79. It's not a BFD. It sounds old, but it doesn't feel old. When I turned 70, that was a big deal. I felt like somebody had flipped my Old Switch. Things started changing, falling apart. But other than the fact that I can't avoid using the words "old" or "elderly" anymore, I don't feel that much different now than I did then.

My birthday was the 28th of September. The regular monthly lunch I have with friends was the third Wednesday, so some of them brought gifts and cards on that day. Some of them waited until our lunch in October. My son came to celebrate on my birthday, my stepson and sister-in-law came two weeks later. So that was a long, drawn-out birthday celebration. 

At the October lunch, a woman some of us knew from NAWBO, stopped by our table and said she just celebrated a birthday, too. I said I just turned 80 and she said she was 86. I wanted to say, "You don't look 86," but I think this is what 86 looks like now. My mind is working on readjusting what old looks like and feels like. 

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