Feeling at all special this month? Well, if you're an older adoptive parent in the USA, you should be.

May is Older Americans Month which should mean just about anything you'd like it to mean.

It used to be called "Senior Citizens Day", but between the 18th of April, 1963 when President Kennedy issued the proclamation that designated it so and now, President Jimmy Carter renamed it.

The original point of making May Yank Geezer Month ... just made that up myself ... was to acknowledge the contributions older people make to the country, and it was asked that the during the month people make a special effort to pay tribute in some way to older people in their communities.

Personally, I'm planning to get my husband to pick his dirty socks up off the floor every night for the whole thirty-one days of May, being that he's fifteen years younger than I am and all. (I'm hoping he doesn't catch on that this is an American celebration, since he's not one.) It seems a good month, too, to get kids to pitch in around the house, and with little ones like so many of us have, we can comfort ourselves with the idea that even twenty-something parents look old to their kids.

Given how the numbers of geezers has grown in the US since the inception of Older Americans Day ... a real force to reckon with now ... there should be socks being picked up all over the country.

In 1963 there were 17 million Americans over the age of 65. By 2005, there were 36.8 million, and it's predicted that by 2050 the gaggle of geezers pushing 70 will amount to 86.7 million and will make up 21% of the population ... a 147% increase compared to only 49% more people all together.

The age group many of us find ourselves in now ... the 45s to 64s ... those who will hit the big 6-5 over the next two decades, has grown by 40% in the last ten years.

Although there are no stats on older adoptive parents, at the last census there were almost half a million (445,000) grandparents over the age of 65 who had primary responsibility for grandchildren that lived with them.

According to the CDC, life expectancy continues to improve and the gap between women and men is narrowing. (Not necessarily good new for women, as we're losing more than men are gaining, due to obesity, osteoporosis and other issues that impact women more severely.)

The theme for Older Americans Month 2007 is "Older Americans: Making Choices for a Healthier Future."

Sure. I'll buy that. Our kids need us around and healthy, so we make our choices as much for them as for us.

I'll also add that with our gang growing at the rate it is, we might want to own the massive contributions, tremendous talent, great wit, experience and all the rest we bring to the world and decide it looks good on us.

When as much of the world is as old as we're getting to be, shouldn't we be happier with our faces, our gravity-influenced bodies, our hair ... what we have left of it ... and less willing to attempt morphing into an often bizarre and surgically manipulated imitation of youth that these days seems a preferred countenance to put on for the world?