Getting Older

I’m getting older now, I can tell. I can feel it, though it’s different from what I thought it’d be. It’s just not what I thought. There’s a lot said and written about this aspect of life, some of which is true and some not. Some is humorous, and some not. I wish I had recorded it all, to do a sort of comparison. It is because I didn’t that I’ll have to give you the “quick and long” story. Such as things always seem to be.

To begin with … I don’t know where to begin. It seemed to sneak up on me, as so many told me it would. One day I was young, and then another I’m not. It’s not that I’m so old that I can’t do for myself, or anything like that. Hell, I can still and often do, ride a bicycle 600-1000 miles a month. It’s just… well, I mean at 50, I’m not really old, not in the physical sense anyway. I’m older than most my bosses and fellow associates, but that’s not what I’ve noticed that led to the realization that I’m getting older. It’s not just one certain thing. It’s much more subtle than that. It’s an accumulation of many things.

Of course the physical stuff comes first, the stuff we are told about. This are those common aches and pains that sort of sneak up on you. You begin to find that bending or stooping to pick something up is a lot easier than getting back up. Later it seems one is as difficult as the other. Then there’s mornings. No longer can you wake up at 4:00 or 5:00 a.m. and spring out of bed like a mongoose to start a day at work. Now it takes a little more time to get motivated and the blood flowing. God help you if you’re one of those who still think you can party like a banshee on your days off and still make an Olympic dash out the door and get there on time. A hang over is no longer a hang over but an event marked with “out of body” type realism.

Even on a normal day, a single cup of coffee doesn’t do it for you anymore. You use to make fun or complain about the amount of time it takes for your girlfriend or wife to get ready to go to work in the mornings with remarks like, “Geese, I could have been out the door, there, and done half a days work before you make it to the drive.” Instead, you’re thanking her. “Take your time,” you say while trying to gulp down a second.