On Growing Older

Walking from the car to the office this morning I was noticing just how many aches and pains I was feeling. Ankles. Knees. Hips. Back. Neck. And the list goes on and on it seems. My first thought was that I needed to get back on my high dose aspirin regimen. (I had stopped because my wife said aspirin causes ring in the ears and I've had that for years.) Then it dawned on me, "Hey, you ain't 22 anymore!"

It made me think of the old joke about how growing old isn't for sissies.

But I stick to my belief that growing older is mandatory while growing up is optional, and in many ways I've declined the option. This is visibly represented by the many toys I keep around me and my continued participation in activities generally suited to those in the younger age registers. I can't do all the jumps, spins and rolls of my younger counter parts but I do what I can and enjoy the camaraderie.

Growing older has given me a certain perspective I didn't have as a young man. I no longer live like I will live for ever. That simply means I don't take some chances that I used to. By the same token, I now take advantage of opportunities that come my way that in the past I might have said, oh I'll do that later.

I'm not in a hurry any more. I enjoy a cup of coffee with my wife on a Sunday morning. I don't have to be running off to this, that or the other thing. I can easily sit with my dogs and a computer or the boob tube for extended periods, just enjoying the solitude. Where I used to go to football games or a rock concert, I would now rather stay home and watch it on tv, avoiding the hassle of the crowds.

When I look back on my life I can point to many, many things that were impetuous, stupid, or worse. Several of these didn't turn out all that well. But for me, I don't regret anything I've done. I say that not out of arrogance, but because I was able to learn from each one, and the sum of these things have led me to be the person I am. And I am happy with who I have become. I believe my mother would be proud of me if she were alive. And who can really ask for more?

To look back and think about how differently my life would be if I had chosen differently. It is quite amazing. Coming out of high school, if I had accepted a different scholarship then the one I did, or if I had accepted the walk on offer at Iowa State, what alternate string of events would have followed. If I had taken the sports writers job I was offered straight out of college instead of going to graduate school, where would I have ended up? And on and on with a myriad of decision points.

I'm happy to say I didn't take any of those other options, for they wouldn't have lead me to this here and now. And I LIKE this here and this now!

(Well now, hasn't this been quite the little maudlin rant! It's a good think I don't have birthdays more often if this the type of tripe I turn out on such occasions!)