How old are you, is it brain age, the face that's mirrored, or the age others perceive you?

I entered a large store that sells all food items, huge place that has my mouth-watering as I walk around with Linda as she shops for our needs. It was my turn to dig for the debt card and at the till a supervisor came over and swiped a card passed the reader, “What you up to?” my question, “Pensioners day today we give you 5% discount.” the polite answer, “What do I look so old?” my retort. “Shut-up, we need the discount, you old …..” Linda's instruction. I preferred the supervisors answer “No sir, young actually, but we know you're a pensioner” what a polite young person, managed to stroke my ego in a way that I nearly believed her.

Do we feel as old as we actually look, have the years in the sun made us seem much older, or are the years now telling? Are we the proverbial dog chasing the car not knowing what to do with it when we catch it?

The face that stares back at me in the mirror every morning, when I have to shave those grey speckles that seem to grow over night, frightens me. Is that really me, that half bald, baggy eyed old man. Have I not just struggled hard enough to stand up from the bed, to stretch the muscles that seem to have lost their ability to work? Must this old man in the mirror look back at me with such disdain and disgust.

“Linda, get in here please” will some mornings have her coming with concern for my well-being, “Who the hell is that?” I will ask pointing at the mirror. “God, Love (she calls me that, don't know why, maybe that early in the morning she can't remember my name) one day you going to call me because something is wrong and I'm going to ignore you.” her chiding retort.

There are those mornings when I'm not sure what the name is of the face looking back at me, and when I warn him to go with finger-pointing and fist shaking, he just gives it back. One of these days he will push me too far and I'll really hit him. However, a shave, wash and hair brush (of the few left) returns that face I recollect as belonging to me.

For a man there is nothing nicer than seeing a pretty face, and when I see one I point her out to Linda, on occasions she even points one out to me. I think she worries I may no longer care or might have missed seeing one. Her words “If you stop looking, I'll get worried.” She should join me in the bathroom everyday, she might understand why sometimes I do miss a pretty face, it's because the good-looking one that greeted me every morning for years left a long time ago.

A short check list for men to discover if you are not as young as you think;

• do you get up once or more times in the middle of the night to go to the toilet;
• do you awake before the alarm clock goes off in the morning;
• do you chase a good-looking women down the shopping centre, bit wonder what you would do with her if you caught her; (be honest now this is not an ego test)
• do you struggle keeping up with that good-looker;
• are there hairs growing in places you've never had hairs grow before;
• are there muscles paining where you never knew you had;
• the temptation to go for a run or walk, are often avoided by quickly sitting and switching on the TV telling yourself there was something you wanted to watch;
• you no longer wash the car yourself, you now take it to the cleaners;
• your spare tyre above your pants belt considered hard-work and earned;
• the wife's so much more forgiving than she was. (sign she might be getting old)