Observations on Aging “How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you was?” Satchel Paige, Baseball Player *** Compare the words aging or elderly with youth and vibrancy. Which do you prefer? When I was in my twenties, I had the attitude that I was different from everyone else. Old people were old because they were weak mentally. Aging got the better of them because they allowed it to do so. I would be an anomaly and stay alive for as long as I wanted. I ran a 4:30 mile simply by sprinting the entire distance. Only when I got serious about boxing and martial arts did I begin running regularly. Then, to warm up, I would run three or four miles and jump rope for 30 minutes straight. Saturday mornings, I ran up and down hills over a 6.6-mile …show more content…
Their commercials will be targeting me in a few short years. In my 60’s and 70’s, Depends adult diapers will set their sights on me. Could this be the genesis of the phrase, The Golden Years? I used to look forward to the major events to come. Now the little things in life are more important. A morning cup of coffee, an afternoon cup of tea, a good meal with friends, and explaining the birds and the bees to my sons are some of the little things that make life worth living. I forget what this has to do with the aging process. Having children forces you to grow up and changes your life. Those who have no children may think they understand life and all it encompasses, but the truth is having children teaches a person more than they learn on their own. My sons never let me forget that in their eyes I am old. When I tell them, "My back hurts," they ask, "Is it because you're old?" "How old are you Daddy?" "Fifty," I say. "Wow, you are old." A Thai friend told me his mother was old. "How old is she?" I asked. “She is very old. Fifty-two." Perhaps he was trying to tell me