We don't round up to 70
When my daughter was much younger, she had a rote answer when asked her age. She would round it up to the next number. "I'm almost 11" was the response even before she had her half-birthday. The same thing the following year...and so on. She doubled down on this by telling us that even on the first day following your birthday, you were closer to the next age because you can never go backward in age. I'm pretty sure rolled my eyes at this multiple times because that's what I do...and I do it a lot.
The last time I remember talking about this was when she was seventeen. She wanted to attend a music show that was rated for age eighteen and over. I told her to tell them that she was almost eighteen and see how that would go over. The only one laughing was me.
Last summer I was at a neurological appointment. After each test where a Parkinson's symptom showed up, I asked if it was due to the disease or because I am almost seventy years old. My neurologist responded with "We don't round up here." While it was nice of her and I did like that, it didn't really answer my question.
Yesterday, I had another appointment with the same medical professional. The hour was spent discussing symptoms and medications. We decided to put any changes on hold until my next follow-up in July. I mentioned by that time, I will have reached age seventy. She followed with "Don't rush it. Remember, we don't round up here."
I'm not sure what is her deal with not rounding up. Maybe it's because of the nature of the disease that a majority of her patients are senior citizens. But after thinking about this, her advice is not only solid in medical situations, it works in how we live our lives. Why not slow things down instead of being in a hurry. What's the rush? I'm not saying we should bring everything to halt; just take the time to realize and appreciate what you have. Enjoy the moment.
So for the next four months and twenty-four days, I'm going slow down on the age seventy talks. No more almost seventy for me. After all, I'm fairly sure there won't be any almost-seventy and older music shows that I want to see between now and June.
Related Post: The year of being seventy
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