I used to be the youngest person in the room. I'm not sure when that changed, but a recent trip to South Carolina made it abundantly clear those days are behind me.

The first clue came at airport security. As I approached TSA screening, the agent asked whether I had any hip replacements or metal in my body.

Hip replacements? Really? Was there something about my appearance that suggested I was carrying around titanium joints? I smiled and said no, but thought, Do I really look that old?

Apparently, I'd entered a new demographic without official notification.

We were headed to a family wedding, followed by a few days in Charleston. Weddings bring generations together, but they can also deliver a sobering reality check. Looking around the reception, I realized even the parents of the bride and groom were younger than I was. Not just the newlyweds. Their parents!

I remember being the young guest dancing until midnight. Now I was old enough to be the mother of the people paying for the reception.

A few days later, we visited the pier at Folly Beach. As I looked around, I noticed an abundance of older couples strolling along, enjoying the ocean breeze. It looked like a retirement community commercial: silver-haired couples walking hand in hand, with the Atlantic as their backdrop.

Then came the unsettling realization: I was one of them.

When did I join this crowd? And why hadn't anyone asked my permission?

Charleston offered additional reminders. It's a beautiful city, full of history, charm, and cobblestone streets. Cobblestones! Picturesque, certainly, but whoever decided uneven rocks made a good walking surface wasn't thinking about knees and ankles with decades of mileage.

One evening, a couple seated next to us at a bar casually asked whether we were retired.

There it was again. Another stranger making assumptions about my age.

My husband is retired, but I still work full-time. I wanted to explain that I run an organization, manage a busy schedule, and haven't quite wrapped my head around the idea that I'm old enough for people to assume I've retired.

Instead, I simply answered the question.

Technology wasn't particularly kind to me either. At our hotel, the valet said he'd text a link so we could request our car. Simple enough, except I couldn't find it. For our entire stay, I assumed it never arrived.

Eventually, the valet showed me how to search my texts from unknown senders. There it was, waiting patiently all along. Nothing makes you feel older than someone a third of your age showing you how to use your own phone.

Then there was the flight home. Apparently, American Airlines no longer considers seatback entertainment screens essential. Passengers can stream movies on their phones.

Wonderful. Except I hadn't brought earphones.

Settling in for a five-hour flight, I stared at my book and wondered whether I could really read for five hours. Everyone else seemed prepared, phones propped up and earbuds in place. I considered the in-flight magazine. If only there had been one.

For a final lesson, our 45-minute connection in Charlotte required a warp-speed dash to another terminal. We wove through crowds, dragging carry-ons behind us. By the time we reached our gate, I was thinking, I am too old for this.

Yet that's what struck me most about the trip. In my mind, I'm still the woman who can navigate airports, explore cities, stay out late, and keep up with just about anyone. I don't wake up feeling 68. I wake up feeling like me.

Aging happens so gradually that our self-image doesn't always keep pace. We remember being the youngest employee, or the youngest person at the conference table. Then one day, someone asks about hip replacements.

Maybe the secret isn't trying to stay young but remembering that growing older doesn't make us less adventurous, curious, or engaged. There are still places to explore and experiences to enjoy, even if getting there involves cobblestones, confusing technology, and a mad dash through an airport.

I may no longer be the youngest person in the room. But I still intend to be one of the most interesting.