There's something about aging that you younger folks might not know. I didn't know it myself until...well...until I got old.
You see, the thing is, we don't KNOW we're old. Oh, we know our chronological age, and we know that people of that age are traditionally thought of as old. But the truth is, there is a teenager trapped inside that aging body.
Sometimes that gets us into trouble, as when I recently ran (literally) to the garage to get something out of our vehicle. As I turned to run (literally) back into the house, my shoes slipped on the garage floor; and I went down. Hard. The old body, with its slower reflexes, betrayed the teenager inside who felt just as agile as ever.
Sometimes this little-known fact of aging just creates humorous moments, as last week when I heard strange sounds coming from the kitchen. I was, as usual, in the computer room at the other end of the house. What I was hearing sounded like something plastic being bounced on the kitchen floor.
I called out, "What are you doing out there?"
Doug replied, sheepishly, "Playing with my pill bottle."
Laughing, I called back, "What is this...the senior version of 'kick the can'?"
Then I went out to the kitchen and found Doug tossing an empty pill bottle over his head and behind his back and catching it. Well, catching it some of the time.
My 16-year-old-in-a-70-year-old-body husband was just checking to see if he still had the moves from his baseball-playing days.
I love the boy in that man.
Thanks to Hilary at The Smitten Image for including this post as a Post of the Week.
This is a great post, Linda! I'm visualising Doug tossing the bottle and trying to catch it and have to smile. This is so understandable. You know, I'm not old yet but I perceive the still enlarging gap between my mental and physical age. I feel younger than twenty years ago but my body shows signs of my age mercilessly. But I think it's all right because when you start feeling really old, having no enthusiasm and energy, that must be sad and tiring. Keep your young minds in your ageing bodies! :)
ReplyDeletethis made me smile. :)
ReplyDeletei am struggling with this aging thing, too. i think i'm about 38 - old enough to know better but still young enough to have fun - instead of about to turn 50 this summer...
Growing old isn't for wimps. I've heard it said and I think its true: Just because you grow old doesn't mean you have to BE old.
ReplyDeleteI just reminded myself this morning that I don't want to become and old person who has no zest for life. God willing,I want to enjoy each day and dance when I feel like it. It may be more dancing in my head than in my feet,but that's ok too.
ReplyDeletePetra - It's an eye opener when people begin treating you differently because of their perception that you're old...and you don't think of yourself that way. Keep thinking young!
ReplyDeleteTheresa - You're just a young whippersnapper. The 50th birthday sounds like a big one, but it's really just another day.
Stephen - That's a good philosophy to remember.
Ruth - I actually thought of you when I wrote this because you seem to exemplify the whole "young at heart" thing.
You are too funny! This is so true, though! Hope you aren't too battered and bruised from the fall. I must admit I'm starting to feel the age that's on my driver's license, but sometimes I forget. Then a 30-something at the grocery store says "yes ma'am" to me. I hate that! Grrrr.
ReplyDeleteGail - If you can't change it, you might as well find the humor in it. I've been getting that "ma'am" thing for years. But, since I've let my hair grow out white, now people are offrering me their seats!
DeleteMy cousin has a saying embedded into each one of her emails. "Growing old is mandatory. Growing up is optional." Doug is living proof of that. If we're lucky, we all are.
ReplyDeleteI hope you're healing from the fall.
Hilary - I've heard that saying before, and it's so true. I hope that 16-year-old-boy inside of Doug never grows up. My injured knee has improved. But it's still tender to touch, and there's a loss of feeling along the side of it. It's nothing I can't live with. It doesn't interfere with any of my activities.
DeleteFun and so true!!
ReplyDeleteHugs
SueAnn
congrats on your POTW!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the visit and comment, SueAnn!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Theresa.
Congrats on the POTW award! I certainly agree with you. We don't feel old at all! But sometimes our body slows down and the rest of us thinks we're far, far ahead. Does that make sense? I'm sure you know what I mean. Hope you are recovering from the fall.
ReplyDeleteAh, Wendy. You're obviously another kindred spirit. Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving a comment. I'm glad to say that my recovery is coming along nicely.
DeleteYeah, I'm 55 going on 18. I'm happily married, very, but an incurable flirt. I now have to keep reminding myself, when I find myself, say, alone in an elevator with a pretty young girl, that she's probably looking at me in the same way she would her grampa. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteHa! That reminds me of a birthday card we saw once that had a picture of a beautiful girl on the outside. Inside was a reminder that she was young enough to be the recipient’s daughter. Ouch!
DeleteThanks for stopping by, Sully.
Love this.....and ain't it the truth.
ReplyDeleteIsn't that the truth, and thanks for sharing
ReplyDeleteso wonderfully.