Rites of Passage

I’ve heard that because Americans no longer celebrate traditional social or religious rights of passage anymore we are left to our own devices to create indicators that reference important times in our lives. That certainly explains the increase in the number of people with tattoos and the rise of full blown kindergarten graduation ceremonies that used to be reserved for high school and college.

But when things are celebrated willy-nilly and every participant, regardless of performance, gets a trophy or a medal or a certificate just for participating the value gets cheapened.

Turning points that relate to a person’s age are probably the exception. 16, 18, 21, and any that end in 0 are the main ones that come to mind. This month I’m coming up on an age related landmark that also contains special recognition by the U.S. Government . . . eligibility for Medicare.

Never thought I’d be here. But here I am.

I’ve had to work for every dime I’ve ever had and during that time the Federal Government has deducted taxes from every single paycheck for Social Security and Medicare (among other things). And although I’ve been collecting Social Security for a year and a half now, today I feel like I’ve finally made it to “fully qualified retirement day”.

Yep, it’s a big deal. It’s been a long time coming. I’ve worked hard for it. I’ll tell you this . . . it’s a very significant rite of passage to me.