Getting older isn’t all that great

Today I have have a few words about getting older.

As much as I hate to admit it (even to myself), I am getting older by the day (wipe that smile off your face, you are too).

I have now reached the point in my life when people politely refer to you as being “senior” and say that you are in your “golden years” and that you can start "taking it easy".

I have news for you. There is nothing “golden” about getting older. And “taking it easy” is for people ready for rocking chairs and sitting on a park bench feeding the pigeons. That is decidedly not me. Not yet. Not for a good while yet. I now “take it easy” pretty much the same as I always have –that is whenever I can find the time when I don’t have appointments, things that need to get done or places I have to be.

Mentally, I don’t feel older or any different than I did when I was in my late twenties. Physically, well, that’s a different story. The face that looks back at me in the mirror when I shave in the mornings is beginning to reflect a road map of six decades of hard work, hard play, times of tragedy and times of joy. I walk a little slower, can’t lift quiet as much and have to stop and catch my breath a little more often.

But, at the same time, I laugh a little harder, appreciate a good friend a little more, enjoy a good meal or drink or movie or TV program a little more and generally get more pleasure from the little things in life. To use an old adage, I “stop and smell the roses” a little more often.

There are differences, however...

Being dressed and to work on time has been replaced by being dressed and to a doctor’s appointment on time. My contact list now has more doctors in it than friends.

I have a General Practitioner, a cardiologist, a dermatologist, an oncologist, a nephrologist, a colo-rectal surgeon and a venal surgeon. All of whom compete for my time and attention with regular office visits and endless tests and new prescriptions.

They all seem to enjoy telling me what good shape I’m in (for my age) and then warning me about all the things I should avoid or cut down on.

I then enjoy telling them that if I’ve gotten this far in this good a condition, I intend to pretty much live my life as I have always done and if something breaks or starts to wear out, well, that’s what they get the big bucks to fix.

The bottom line is that getting older sucks. I enjoy senior discounts, but I hate deserving them. Parking in the disabled parking spaces is nice, but I’d prefer to not qualify for that privilege. Sex should be spontaneous, not planned and prepared for in advance. And trying to stay up and awake to watch a good program on TV should be something little kids have to worry about.

One thing I do enjoy about all of this is the expression on the face of some idiot who calls me “gramps” or some such name and has suddenly found out that he has made a very big mistake.

All things taken into consideration, my advice to you is simple. Go ahead and get older if you can. Take the time to enjoy the things that make you smile and learn to live with the things that make you frown. Getting older is no bowl of roses, but the alternative isn’t too great either.

 

 

Todays Relefection:

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Live Long and Prosper....