Aging and Almost 50

I am having cataract surgery on Tuesday Jan 11. But I'm only 49. Ok, almost 50. So I found this most excellent Curriculm Module on aging. What the heck happens to the human body?
"Changes in Vision: Beginning the fourth decade, the pupil begins to decrease in size and in response time to light. Because of these changes, it is estimated that older adults require three times the amount of illumination to see as a younger person. Also, focusing takes longer with an increase in nearsightedness, making small print harder to read. Another normal change is thickening and yellowing of the lens of the eye. This results in light diffraction, increased sensitivity to glare, decreased depth perception, and more difficulty distinguishing pastel colors, especially blues and greens. Non-normal changes of the eye include cataracts or significant opacification of the lens, glaucoma, and various retinal disorders such as macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy. "

So I'm non-normal. And that's a good thing?

Another interesting passage:
"... Moreover, interviews with older adults themselves have found that individuals' own self-images seem to change relatively little as they age, leading some anthropologists to posit that the self is essentially "ageless." "
This calls for a blog of it's own. Next entry....