“Saturday Commentary”
Growing Old
I never really thought I would be old. It gradually snuck up on me when I wasn’t looking.
Obviously, aging is inevitable. Whenever I am tempted to complain about aging, I remind myself that growing old is better than the alternative.
When I am tempted to complain about my aches, I recall the Crocodile Hunter quote: “Pain is good. It lets you know you are still alive.”
Someone said, “Age only matters if you are a cheese.” Wrong!
Advantages
1. I don’t have to worry if my zipper is down. As Winston Churchill proclaimed, “Don’t worry. Dead birds do not fall out of nests.”
2. There is/are a plethora of senior discounts.
3. My shoes last longer.
4. I don’t care anymore about “keeping up with the Joneses.”
5. Handicap parking.
6. My back pain helps me avoid annoying meetings or social functions.
7. Grandchildren.
8. I can pretend that I forgot something, rather than admitting, I just didn’t want to do it.
9. I now have the time and the resources to dress “dapperly.” (bow ties, vests, canes)
10. I can “claim” I didn’t hear something or someone.
11. There are more opportunities for volunteering.
12. My collection of stories keeps growing, if I can remember them.
13. The Bible says that age instills wisdom and understanding. (Proverbs 16:31; Job 12:12)
14. I no longer “sweat the small stuff,” and the list of “small stuff” keeps growing.
15. I am still alive.
Disadvantages
1. I am invited to more funerals than weddings.
2. My wife and I have a harder time hearing each other. (Sometimes, this is an advantage.)
3. My back and bladder wake me up several times in the middle of the night
4. Newfangled gadgets are more and more frustrating. (“You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.”)
5. Like a toddler, I have fewer teeth, I wobble when I walk, and one day, I may need diapers.
6. Idiot drivers make me to act like a curmudgeon.
7. Yard work and house repairs hurt.
8. It is more embarrassing to slip and fall, because instead of just laughing at me, witnesses call an ambulance.
9. Everyone around me keeps reducing the font sizes.
10. I am getting more “out of touch” with popular culture (music, lingo, celebrities)
11. Everyone keeps asking me, “Are you okay?”
12. I read more obituaries.
13. My naps are getting longer and more frequent.
14. Everyone around me is talking more softly.
15. I can’t sleep in, because my wife nudges me to see if I am still breathing.
“Today is the oldest you’ve ever been, and the youngest you’ll ever be again.” -Eleanor Roosevelt
“In the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.” –Abraham Lincoln
The London Edition 