No way!

Now wait a minute, just WAIT a minute!!

Had my annual mammogram - always a “whoopee” event . I was told the results would show up in my electronic medical chart in several days. Nope, they popped up the same day. Gulp. After some challenging health issues, every medical test scares me to some degree. OK, took a deep breath, told myself, if need be, I could contact my internist ASAP. (Go, Jan!)

Normal! Yay! Exhaled and read the results for this human specimen - a 71 yr. old female…. 71? No!  Who the hell are they talking about?  I felt like I was looking over my shoulder for the 71-year-old female. Where? Where?! 

OMG, that’s me. I really felt stopped in my tracks. Lost sight of the great results and actually felt shocked, reading about myself described as a 71-year-old. OK, OK, my body creaks more and I’ll probably not run a 100 yard dash again in this lifetime, but 71? 

Such a sense of internal dissonance. Clearly, I don’t perceive myself as 71. (Well, yes, my hair is white, but naturally curly and cute…) Is there a concern about the dissonance between how I perceive myself internally and the reality of my age? I don’t think so. I really don’t think so. For the moment, I experience myself as young in spirit and heart. And, as long as I act my AGE… Whoa! Absolutely wrong choice of words! As long as I’m working to be open-hearted, compassionate, and see myself as a growing human being, I’m happy with THAT age.