"It's not just a number," she said!

My 86-year old sister lives about an hour and a half from me and we don't see each other often. I do, however, call her daily as her safety system in case she falls and needs help. As with many older adults who live alone, she won't use one of those medical alert systems, saying, "I have my cell phone and can call for help. And if I die, then someone will find me."

So, during our call the other day she told me a story. She was at her church, discussing the possibility of going on a group tour to the Holy Land, something she really wants to do.

"I had just said that I really want to go because I am 86 years old and might not get another chance to go. A younger person standing near me said, 'Oh, age is just a number!'" Oops - wrong thing to say to my sister!

"It is not," she said she told this person. "I'm 86 and you're not. You don't know what you're talking about!" Being a Scorpio, I suspect she said this very forcefully!

We discussed this for awhile because she's right. We have all these platitudes we spout to others and a lot of time we don't know what we're talking about. As someone else once said, an older adult has lived through their 20's, 30's, 40's, 50's 60's 70's, etc....while younger people have not. The perspective changes as we live through situations as opposed to only witnessing or studying about them.

This isn't to say we have to experience something to know about it. That is also untrue. However, the point I want to make is to be careful when we are tempted to repeat some sort of platitude. It may or may not apply to the person or situation at hand. Think before we speak or a lively Scorpio might put us in our place!