The other day, I went to a beekeeping meeting, which was actually a picnic. When we arrived, I was carrying a box with our addition to the potluck picnic and several other items (we are non-meat eaters so I bring our own veggie burgers and presently, my husband is on a special diet to help in his fight against cancer. The diet includes NO sugars and NO dairy. So I bring the substitutes or variation sauces).
Back to the picnic: There I was carrying a box and this young lady approached me and asked if she could help me carry the box. I replied, “No thank you. I am fine.” She then insisted that she take the box from me. I was wondering why she was making such a big deal about this when I realized that she was looking at me as a senior citizen (something I certainly was not feeling) and she was probably taught that you help older individuals with their packages. Now I do have white hair and this may be what she focused on (Ah, yes, sweet as her offer was, it was probably influenced by an aspect of ageism – everyone who has white hair must be old!)
On the other hand, a study conducted in the U.K. showed that most people see themselves to be at least 10 years younger than their actual age.
This is true of the healthy aging individual, and healthy I am. However, as soon as one starts to have debilitating physical problems or mental problems, one feels a lot older (ironically at that juncture, still probably not their age, but a whole lot older than their age.)
So, most probably, the young lady saw me for what I was (or maybe older) and I, fitting the profile of the British study, was proceeding as though I was ten years young
