What Does It Mean to Be a “Senior Citizen” Now?

Senior Citizen Day, August 21, is meant to honor older adults. That sounds simple enough. But the word “senior” does not mean quite what it once did. Maybe it never did. For some people, it still brings to mind retirement, grandchildren, travel, and a little more time to enjoy life. For others, later life is much busier than that.

A person in their 60s may still be working full-time. They may also be caring for an older parent, helping with grandchildren, serving at church, volunteering, or trying to decide whether their current home will work for the years ahead.

Someone in their 70s may be starting something new rather than slowing down. Someone in their 80s may still be the person family members call for advice, reassurance, or a ride to an appointment.

There is no single way to grow older.

That is easy to see across Southeast Minnesota. Older adults live in larger cities, small towns, farming communities, and rural areas. Some have family nearby. Others do not. Some drive wherever they need to go. Others depend on a spouse, a neighbor, public transportation, or a volunteer driver.

Where a person lives can shape the experience of growing older. In an urban area, services may be closer, but traffic, cost, and getting across town can still be barriers. In a rural area, neighbors may know and look out for one another, but health care, groceries, and social activities may be many miles away.

Some older adults are healthy and active. Others are managing pain, illness, grief, or the demands of caregiving. Many are doing more than one of these at the same time.

What people often want is not very complicated. They want to remain part of things. They want to see friends. Attend worship. Go out for coffee. Walk in a park. Get to the grocery store. Visit grandchildren. Keep learning. Be useful. Make their own decisions for as long as possible.

Those ordinary things can become harder when a home has too many stairs, transportation is limited, sidewalks are icy, or there is nowhere to sit and rest. A person may still be capable and interested yet find that the community around them no longer fits as well as it once did.

That is why Senior Citizen Day should be a reminder to pay attention.

Are older adults included when communities make decisions? Are there places to live that are affordable, safe, and easier to manage? Can people get where they need to go if they stop driving? Are parks, sidewalks, libraries, clinics, and community spaces welcoming to people with different levels of mobility?

These questions matter to everyone.

A bench along a walking path may help an older adult go a little farther. It may also help a parent with a young child or someone recovering from surgery. A safer street crossing works for a person using a walker, a child riding a bike, and anyone trying to cross before the light changes.

Communities that work well for older adults usually work better for families, children, and people of every age.

There is another reason to mark this day. Older adults have helped build the communities we now live in. They have raised families, worked in schools and businesses, cared for neighbors, volunteered, paid taxes, coached teams, served on boards, and kept local organizations going.

Many are still doing those things. They do not need to be praised as heroes or described as burdens. Most would probably settle for being seen clearly as people with experience, needs, opinions, humor, worries, and something left to contribute.

Perhaps that is the best meaning of Senior Citizen Day. It is a day to recognize longer lives, not as an exception, but as part of the life of our communities. It is also a chance to ask whether the places we call home are ready for us as we grow older.

Because, with luck, that is where every one of us is headed.

This article appeared in the August 2026 issue of TODAY magazine.