Time's Winged Chariot

I went to the box office today to get tickets to our college's production of Romeo and Juliet. (It's apparently set in modern-day Afghanistan, so I'm curious to see it.) The tickets are free, of course, because I'm a faculty member, but I happened to glance at the prices while I waiting in line. Reasonable, I think, only about $12-$15 or so per person. It is, after all, a college production even though our college has a reputation for the quality of its theatrical offerings. Some are much better than professional performances I've seen.

But back to the ticket prices...

I happened to notice that seniors get a discounted rate. That's no surprise, really. Lots of places offer senior discounts. It was the age that's considered "senior" that caught me off guard: 55. Even that doesn't seem all that unreasonable. I think that's probably about the age that most senior discounts begin.

What caught me off guard was how close I am to being eligible for the senior discount: 10 years now, one decade. Yes, I know I will still be getting tickets there for free. That's not my point. I can't believe that time is going by so quickly. I've fully adjusted to the notion that I'm middle-aged. That doesn't even bother me all that much. However, the thought of being considered a senior? I'm going to need more than a decade to get ready for that.

Of course, my friends who are already above the age of 55 are probably going to be merciless about this, and they probably should be. But I'd venture that even they drew themselves up short a bit when they first realized they were considered "seniors." And it had to be a bit of a shock when they realized that they were getting close to that particular designation.

I'm not saying that it's bad to reach that milestone. It's going to happen whether I like it or not. That's not even an issue for me. I am a pragmatist about growing older. It isn't as if I'm Dorian Gray or even Benjamin Button. I just wish it could slow down just a little bit. That's all. And that I could stop having these moments of startling clarity or, at least, stop having them so often these days.