Seems like a silly question, doesn't it. We begin "aging" the moment we are born, if not before. But for most of us "aging" means "getting old". Maybe it would be better to ask, "Can we relate to 'getting old'? If I ask the question that way, I am sure to get a "not really" response from a lot of readers.
"Old" is a personal definition, of course. In the 1960's the "young" said, "You cannot trust anyone over 30." So, was age 30 the watershed, and anyone over 30 was "old"?
For others, retirement age is "old". Generally we think of age 65 as retirement age, although in 2013 when I write this most people in the United States who are age 65 can plan on living another twenty or thirty years.
For me, at age 75, old is when I began having physical impairments -- needing a new knee, back issues, etc. But that's not totally true. I had retina detachments in my fifties and did not define myself as "old". This defining of "old" is a pretty subjective concept.
When I was in my thirties I used to visit nursing homes, and my oldest daughter never wanted to go visit "old" people. She was somewhat scared of them. Maybe she still is. She has embraced the "forever a teen beauty" concept for herself with fearsome passion. I wonder, "When is a person old for her?"
What is it about people who are "old" that makes relating to them difficult? Leave a comment and let us know.
