I'm THIS Many!
I turned 51 this year. There's probably some odd maker in Vegas that cannot believe that I've actually made it this far. I've done a lot of risky things and I've also done some "stupid risky" things in my life, so maybe I've even surprised myself. Motorcycles (and crashes), skydiving, racing, raising kids....these kinds of activities can end your life early if you're not careful.
When I was a kid, I remember looking at those old guys on the professional football and baseball teams. I looked up to them and collected trading cards trying to get my favorites. Now all of a sudden I find out that there were many who were younger than my oldest son is now. I realize there have always a lot of geriatric "Favre's" out there who think they're Timex watches. (for you youngsters, that's referring to a commercial back in the old days of tube TVs) But most were so young!
Then I got into my twenties. I really thought I was all that. I was older now. I had been on the fire department and now was in college, had kids of my own coming, and really thought I had lived a LOT by then. I had a lot of things figured out. The one thing I realized early on though was that people didn't take me very seriously when I was in my twenties. Why not?? I had it together, had a wide variety of life experiences by that time and had 2, count 'em 2 college degrees! I had great ideas, lots of optimism, ambition, drive and desire. What more do you want from me??
So it was somewhere in my 20's or very early 30's that I decided (in my great wisdom) that I couldn't wait to be 40. My reasoning was, "When I reach 40, THEN people will take me seriously". Great idea, huh? So as my 30's clicked by I the anticipation grew with every passing year. There was a huge surprise party on my 40th because most everyone knew that I was looking forward to it so much. It was incredible. My twin brother came up from Dallas, friends came out of the woodwork to help me celebrate that big birthday. Such a memorable time. I thought, "Now, finally! I'll get taken seriously! Yay!!!" I should have seen the signs when my sons telling me they were getting a cane, Depends, and various other things that did not really indicate "take me seriously".
Year 45 came and I was still on the edge of my seat searching the horizon like the father of the prodigal watching the road waiting for his son to come home. Optimism was beginning to wane, but I still had hope that the day would come. Trust me, I wasn't doing nothing while I was waiting. I was working hard, planning hard, dreaming big, starting businesses, and working toward my goals. But always lurking in the back of my mind was the search for my 'holy grail'.
At 51, no thanks to mail from AARP and threats of colonoscopies, I'm starting to hear the whispers saying "he's too old". What the heck?? First I was too young, now I'm too old. I must have missed that optimal 10 minutes somewhere between 20 and 51 that I was "just right"! Just my luck! What I could've done with that 10 minutes would have been epic I'm sure.
The idea of what indicates "old" seems to be getting older every day though. Even at 80, my Mom doesn't seem old. "Old" is somewhere in the 90's now. My, how perceptions change. Thank God I still have people who think I'm younger. Just this week a girl from work stopped by my desk and said, "I can't believe what I just heard...that you're 52?!? I thought you were lots younger" Whoa, chica! I AM lots younger...51! She actually thought I was somewhere in my early 40's. As a kid you're insulted by that kind of comment, now...I kinda like it.
I don't consider myself old at all, and really I don't feel the way I thought I would at this age. Yeah, I can tell you when a cold front is coming a few hours in advance because my "stupid crazy" activities gave me that really unique ability years later. I have a few gray hairs that have popped up. A couple of places on the hairline have gone the wrong direction. Speaking of hair...another question I'm going to ask God when I get to heaven: What purpose could hair growing at a increasingly rapid pace out of my ears, nose, and eyebrows possibly serve??? The reason can't be because it LOOKS GOOD! (my wife concurs) Holy cow! Now shaving takes twice as long as it used to. And if it's not my wife, it's my sweet daughter in law coming at me with freakin' tweezers! Back pain from the weather is NOTHING compared to the pain caused by tweezing wild hairs. They've learned to palm the tweezers nonchalantly when they have that evil deed in mind so I don't see it coming. Otherwise, I'm running for my life.
There are always those loving people out there trying to help you as you grow older. I have some dear friends, a husband and wife, who really love each other deeply and have a great relationship. They also love to kid each other. They were in the doctor's office because he had experienced some heart trouble and they had been running some tests. They sat down with the doc so they could come up with a plan of action and his sweet little wife says, "I've thought long and hard about this, with his age and medical problems, I think the only humane thing to do is just have him put to sleep." AWWWW! Kinda reminds you of "The Notebook" doesn't it?
Maybe it's true that you're only as old as you think you are. I plan on being old someday, but not getting old. Retirement has never been huge on my list. Maybe that's because of the influence of my Dad. I've paid great attention to people who have aged gracefully and tried to make sure the positive things I've seen are implemented in my life.
One of my favorite stories is about a group of 90 year old's who were given one question to answer: "If you had it (life) to do over again, what would you do differently?" The answers were compiled and by a great margin, the top three answers were: 1. I would risk more 2. I would reflect more 3. I would start something that would continue long after I'm gone. Sounds like some pretty sage advice.
When I was a kid, I remember looking at those old guys on the professional football and baseball teams. I looked up to them and collected trading cards trying to get my favorites. Now all of a sudden I find out that there were many who were younger than my oldest son is now. I realize there have always a lot of geriatric "Favre's" out there who think they're Timex watches. (for you youngsters, that's referring to a commercial back in the old days of tube TVs) But most were so young!
Then I got into my twenties. I really thought I was all that. I was older now. I had been on the fire department and now was in college, had kids of my own coming, and really thought I had lived a LOT by then. I had a lot of things figured out. The one thing I realized early on though was that people didn't take me very seriously when I was in my twenties. Why not?? I had it together, had a wide variety of life experiences by that time and had 2, count 'em 2 college degrees! I had great ideas, lots of optimism, ambition, drive and desire. What more do you want from me??
So it was somewhere in my 20's or very early 30's that I decided (in my great wisdom) that I couldn't wait to be 40. My reasoning was, "When I reach 40, THEN people will take me seriously". Great idea, huh? So as my 30's clicked by I the anticipation grew with every passing year. There was a huge surprise party on my 40th because most everyone knew that I was looking forward to it so much. It was incredible. My twin brother came up from Dallas, friends came out of the woodwork to help me celebrate that big birthday. Such a memorable time. I thought, "Now, finally! I'll get taken seriously! Yay!!!" I should have seen the signs when my sons telling me they were getting a cane, Depends, and various other things that did not really indicate "take me seriously".
Year 45 came and I was still on the edge of my seat searching the horizon like the father of the prodigal watching the road waiting for his son to come home. Optimism was beginning to wane, but I still had hope that the day would come. Trust me, I wasn't doing nothing while I was waiting. I was working hard, planning hard, dreaming big, starting businesses, and working toward my goals. But always lurking in the back of my mind was the search for my 'holy grail'.
At 51, no thanks to mail from AARP and threats of colonoscopies, I'm starting to hear the whispers saying "he's too old". What the heck?? First I was too young, now I'm too old. I must have missed that optimal 10 minutes somewhere between 20 and 51 that I was "just right"! Just my luck! What I could've done with that 10 minutes would have been epic I'm sure.
The idea of what indicates "old" seems to be getting older every day though. Even at 80, my Mom doesn't seem old. "Old" is somewhere in the 90's now. My, how perceptions change. Thank God I still have people who think I'm younger. Just this week a girl from work stopped by my desk and said, "I can't believe what I just heard...that you're 52?!? I thought you were lots younger" Whoa, chica! I AM lots younger...51! She actually thought I was somewhere in my early 40's. As a kid you're insulted by that kind of comment, now...I kinda like it.
I don't consider myself old at all, and really I don't feel the way I thought I would at this age. Yeah, I can tell you when a cold front is coming a few hours in advance because my "stupid crazy" activities gave me that really unique ability years later. I have a few gray hairs that have popped up. A couple of places on the hairline have gone the wrong direction. Speaking of hair...another question I'm going to ask God when I get to heaven: What purpose could hair growing at a increasingly rapid pace out of my ears, nose, and eyebrows possibly serve??? The reason can't be because it LOOKS GOOD! (my wife concurs) Holy cow! Now shaving takes twice as long as it used to. And if it's not my wife, it's my sweet daughter in law coming at me with freakin' tweezers! Back pain from the weather is NOTHING compared to the pain caused by tweezing wild hairs. They've learned to palm the tweezers nonchalantly when they have that evil deed in mind so I don't see it coming. Otherwise, I'm running for my life.
There are always those loving people out there trying to help you as you grow older. I have some dear friends, a husband and wife, who really love each other deeply and have a great relationship. They also love to kid each other. They were in the doctor's office because he had experienced some heart trouble and they had been running some tests. They sat down with the doc so they could come up with a plan of action and his sweet little wife says, "I've thought long and hard about this, with his age and medical problems, I think the only humane thing to do is just have him put to sleep." AWWWW! Kinda reminds you of "The Notebook" doesn't it?
Maybe it's true that you're only as old as you think you are. I plan on being old someday, but not getting old. Retirement has never been huge on my list. Maybe that's because of the influence of my Dad. I've paid great attention to people who have aged gracefully and tried to make sure the positive things I've seen are implemented in my life.
One of my favorite stories is about a group of 90 year old's who were given one question to answer: "If you had it (life) to do over again, what would you do differently?" The answers were compiled and by a great margin, the top three answers were: 1. I would risk more 2. I would reflect more 3. I would start something that would continue long after I'm gone. Sounds like some pretty sage advice.
Nice article Mark.
ReplyDeleteMy first smile of the day:)
We're all living longer and healthier lives these days,thanks to diet,exercise,and Lipitor!
I'm looking forward to my 90's so I can get away with wearing the wrong colored socks in public and speaking my mind without having to apologize later.
-Steph