Facing Reality, No, Accepting Reality... Bites!

When I was in my 40s, I used to joke (kinda) about how cool it would be when we were finally old enough to get senior discounts. I mean, old people have all the luck. Everything is discounted for them, either all the time or on certain days of the week.

Fast forward to last year. We were moving into our rental, it had poured down rain all day, my book boxes and photo boxes got wet and my mom and I were busy unpacking and drying them before they got ruined. Everyone else was frantically trying to move all of our belongings into the garage and house. I lost track of time and realized my blood sugar was plummeting and I needed to eat - NOW.

Katie drove me to Golden Corral, where the others would meet us as soon as they finished the last load. By the time we got to the restaurant I was in the state of confusion that results from really low blood sugar. We got our meal, I ate some carbs and started to regain my sanity. That's when Katie showed me, while laughing, that they had charged me the senior discount price. Well, I was a little offended, but given my state of mind, I could understand their mistake. After all, you have to be 60 to get the discount there. I was only 52 at the time.

However, they continued to make that mistake. Almost every time Dan & I would go there, they gave us the senior discount. I would point out to them that we're not 60, but they just said "oh, well". Occasionally, they would ask if we deserved it, but 90% of the time they just assumed.

Then, we went to a new restaurant in town this summer and that waiter gave us the discount too. I said, "how old do you have to be to get the discount?". "55", he replied. Me: "just who at this table looks 55 to you? Him, right?" He hemmed and hawed and then apologized. Oh my goodness! Poor Dan, I didn't realize he looked that old to other people, right?!

Oh yeah, reality struck me this past Thursday. I stopped at Wendy's before picking Dan up from work. As the cashier rang up my order, I saw a 10% discount flash by. I said, "why did you give me a 10% discount?" He said, "Oh, I just do it automatically because I get tired of the complaints if I don't." I said, "Complaints from who? Who would expect a 10% discount at Wendy's?" He said, starting to look uncomfortable: "Seniors". I said, "how old do you have to be to get the discount?" Him: "55". Me: "Do I look 55 to you?" He stood his ground and explained that he got so tired of people chewing him out that he just tried to guess. I replied, "oh, you mean like how they card everyone 45 and under for alcohol?" He brightened and said, "yeah, that's what I do". I said "Oh, then you must give the senior discount to everyone that looks 30 or older!" We both laughed, and off I went with my 10% discount on my $5.00 meal.

The fact of the matter is that I am 53 years old, soon to be 54 in August. I have never been ashamed of my age. As a matter of fact, I love my birthdays because I've worked hard to gain each year. But, there's something about people assuming that I deserve the senior discount that really bothers me. Dan, on the other hand, just likes the savings.

The hard truth is that even though I feel like I'm about 35, I must look like I'm about 53. So, I'm going to accept it. I'm going to be proud of it. I'm going to celebrate it. But, I'm still going to cringe every time I see that %10 come off of my purchase!