Those Dang 'Golden Years'!!!

 

A few days ago, I turned 75.  Weird!!  Turned 50….no problem.  Turned 60…..no problem.  Turned 70….no problem.  Turned 75…..not sure about this!!!!

Something changed at 75, now, for the first time, I feel old. Been thinking about this for a while, I think there are a couple of reasons why, suddenly I feel old. 

First, there is my body.  Up until recently my body kept up with my physical demands.  I could walk several miles, I could play 18 holes of golf with no problem, I could keep up with my work around the house, I didn’t need to take naps in the middle of the day, etc, etc, etc. 

That’s not true anymore.  Maybe I could build up the stamina to walk more than 4 miles, not sure.  Maybe I could play enough golf that 18 holes wouldn’t wear me out, not sure about that one either.  Would rather pay someone to do the house work, sure about that one.  And, what’s a nap here or there??

However, there is absolutely no doubt that my body is showing its age.  I should be happy, unlike so many folks I know, I’m in pretty good shape.  I take only 1 prescription a day.  My back is not a problem, my hearing is still good, so are my eyes.  I have no chronic problems at all…. it’s just that my body is definitely aging.

Another definite indicator is the loss of friends and family.   This one I cannot joke about.  Mom and Dad passed a few weeks apart from each other, but at an age where you expect the inevitable.  But since then, friends and family are departing way too fast.  My brother, way too soon.  My two dearest friends I miss daily.  And other friends, who made life so complete and joyous.  Cousins, aunts, uncles…..this earth is becoming a lonely place.  It would be different, maybe, if I were a super extrovert, but you can’t replace family and you can’t replace friends who’ve been a central part of your life for almost 50 years.  The history is just too precious.

So, the old adage about the “Golden Years” is a crock of shit.  There is nothing golden about it.  No matter how hard you try to lie about it. 

Luckily, I can wrap this up with a little humor, two stories…that again contribute to the tale of ‘aging’.

Back during COVID when the COVID checks were being mailed Pete and I decided to use each one for a new appliance in our kitchen.  One of the checks went toward a new refrigerator.  One attribute of our new refrigerator that we noticed is that it doesn’t freeze our ice cream hard.  The ice cream doesn’t melt, but it is super soft and doesn’t stay solid very long once it’s in the bowl.  So…we both looked several times for the internal temperature settings that you usually find inside the appliance.  No matter how many times we both looked, they were never found.  For whatever reason we were both too lazy to track down the owner’s manual that might have been helpful.  BUT…..after a couple of years with this problem, for the first time this weekend guess what I spotted on the front door, where the selections are for pouring water or getting ice…..yep, there, in black and white were the buttons to set the temperatures for both the frig and the freezer!!!!  Duh!!!!  You wanna bet that would have been the first thing our grandkids would have spotted if we had asked?

Second story…..I was very excited recently to read advertisements for a series of concerts where the stage is covered in candles and a 4-person string quartet plays a variety of programs.  One listed that caught my eye was the music of ABBA.  I don’t know what it is, but I can’t sit still when I hear that music.  So, this past Thursday I invited my friend Peggy to join me at the concert and off we went.  It was downtown at Memorial Hall, a wonderfully historic venue that I knew about, but had never been there.  We walk up to the front door and I’m a little confused because no one else is arriving and yet the parking lot is full.  A lady greets us at the door and asks if she can help.  When I explain the program, she says “Nope, not here, not tonight”.  I pull up the electronic tickets and oh my god!!!  The concert is July 6, not June 8.  How in the world did I do that?????!!!!!  Have no idea!!!!   Thankfully the parking lot attended said he couldn’t possibly charge us $15 for 2-minutes worth of parking.  Love that guy.  So, we’ll go back on July 6 and try again. 

Not sure, but deep down inside I truly believe that these two stories are definitely related to my 75^th birthday.