By TINA JENSEN

Times Columnist

I am a little shell shocked because after joking that I will soon be 70 in many of my articles, the dreaded age change will happen this week. My personal reference to getting older has been that when I wake up in the morning I say, “Gee, I hope that goes away!” But lately, I have been feeling that I am aging like an old car when it begins losing body parts. When I approached my senior years, age really didn’t bother me. But for some reason, this birthday has made me more conscious of my age related mental and physical changes. I now seem to have more doctor’s appointments which are usually with doctors who look like they could be my grandchildren.

Things like computer apps and remote controls take my husband and I an eternity to set up while we mutter frustrated words under our breath. If we swallow our pride and ask our grandchildren for help, they usually set up whatever we need over the phone in 10 minutes or less. I remember how excited I was when cars were equipped with remote control locks on the doors. That would be so convenient I told myself. Well, in a few months’ time, I have locked my keys in my car twice due to sensitive buttons and, of course, operator error. I had to call my husband to bring the other set of keys each time. The second time, he shook his head and I had to remind him that we had looked for his sunglasses approximately 47 times that week. I recently went to a comedy show where a comedian told a joke that ended with, “You’re goin’ to the moon Alice!” I was one of four people that laughed. Apparently, we were the only people 60 or above and knew who Jackie Gleason was. I got my first car that I loved, a Ford Capri, when I was 20 years old. It cost $3.90 to fill the tank with gas. Sadly, I just found out that Ford stopped making the Capri in 1986. So, it seems the reality for me as a senior is that I feel the need to check behind me for lost body parts, my first car has been sadly discontinued years ago and I am tech clueless.

But I have realized that with some effort, I can live my life to the fullest at any age. Exploring new and different challenges helps me feel that I can still try interesting things and succeed. Maybe I can’t do everything that I did in my 20s and 30s without limping to the car or applying medication to several body parts but I can still live a life that makes me happy. To follow this new mindset, I recently walked the Golden Gate Bridge and various San Francisco sites totaling seven miles. I then ended the evening by singing several rounds of karaoke. I made it through all of it without a cramp or a mishap and loved every minute. So, “Bring it on, 70!”

Tina Jensen is a member and one of the coordinators of activities for the Escalon Senior Fun Bunch. She contributes a monthly column for The Times.