My Senior Citizen Discount Was Revoked!

My local, small-town grocery store took away my senior citizen discount, and I am overjoyed about it!

Small town, small grocery store

I live in a very small rural area of North Carolina, and our little grocery store has Senior Citizen Discount Day every Wednesday where everyone over 55 years-old gets 10% off their groceries. It’s a great little deal, if you’re in your mid-fifties and older, which I’m not.

A number of years ago, I started dropping in to pick up a few items at least once a week, because it’s such a neat little store and it was close to my office.

Senior citizen discount

I was unaware of the Wednesday senior citizen discount until I happened to stop by on a Wednesday and was asked by the cashier if I get the discount.

When I inquired about which discount she was referring to and she told me, I embarrassingly managed to stutter, “Not quite yet.”

It would have been easier on me if the cashier was a young teenager, because they sometimes have trouble judging age. To them, all adults look ancient.

However, this cashier, without question, qualified for the discount herself, and I could tell she was a little hesitant to ask but didn’t want to deny me the discount if I qualified for it, which at 44 years old at that time, I did not.

Embarrassed and sad

I left the store with my pack of ground hamburger and a flushed face.

Sadly, that was not the last time the Wednesday Senior Citizen Discount nearly ruined my day. There were a number of occasions later that I was not asked, but noticed as I left the store and looked at my receipt, I had indeed received the 10% discount without questioning.

Now don’t get me wrong. I love a discount. But not a senior citizen discount….10 years early!

Feeling old in my 30’s

At that time I knew I looked older, because I felt much older. I was 44 years old, nearly 50 lbs. overweight, and suffering from increasingly painful and swollen joints, as well as other health issues that had started around age 35 and were progressively worsening.

My mother has debilitating rheumatoid arthritis and other serious health issues that started for her around my age. I was terrified I was heading down that same path, but after numerous doctors’ visits and blood tests, I still had no answers for my declining health.

Forks Over Knives Documentary

I decided to investigate some nutritional options. My daughter recommended the documentary, Forks Over Knives, which I watched February 12, 2013–the day my life changed.

From that film, I learned how a plant-based, whole-food lifestyle heals the body and, for the first time, the link between nutrition and health made complete sense to me. The answer had been there all along, but I didn’t know it.

Regaining health

Since that time, I’ve resolved my inflamed and painful joints, lowered my cholesterol from 220 to 141 dropped over 50 lbs, resolved adult acne that previously required prescription medication, and recovered from sleeping issues.

These days when I drop by the grocery store on Wednesdays, there’s never a question as to whether I get the senior citizen discount.

Now, the only question I get is, “What in the world are you doing to look so much younger?”

As much as I love a good deal, that’s one discount I’m glad was taken away from me for now.

When I do turn 55, I plan for them to have to card me to prove I’m old enough. How’s THAT for turning the hands of time back!

Recommended books and resources found HERE.