It's official!

I am now a card carrying "SENIOR CITIZEN".

The picture is very dark and hard to photograph. It shows a view of Canada's Parliament Hill at night.

Its funny how nobody gets excited about turning "senior" and yet they are all over turning into a teenager, turning 16, turning 18 and even turning 21. After that it begins to be about holding back your age. I remember I had my first (and worst) age crisis at the old age of 29.

I guess we go merrily along without mentioning how we are dreading getting older until one day we "hit" the big 40. Nothing graceful sounding about that, and friends tend to dig in with the old jokes and the black balloons. I think they do that at 40 because they think that 40 really is getting old and they don't want to point out the obvious later on.

By 50 you are starting to care less about how fast you are aging and are kind of proud to have lived half a century.

By 60 you are starting to get excited about retirement, like when you were 16 and couldn't wait to be 18. The only difference being they were waiting to start and you are waiting to finish. Those last 5 years don't take so long to go by and then there is something to celebrate, the end of life in the working world.

Sure, it doesn't always happen at 65 but there is a point where you are done and you are clear to do anything you want. Remember being a child and how delicious time was. Those long endless summer days, spending time with friends - all day if you wanted. Wake up whenever you want and sleep whenever you want and you don't even have to be responsible for your own expenses if you have savings or a pension.

So I say, lets celebrate turning senior, lets start enjoying senior benefits and discounts and lets talk it up. Congratulate seniors on entering the next phase of their life. Tell them to live it up and do everything they always wanted to do. I know I will.