Oh how we hate to admit to getting old. We do everything we can to avoid it. We lie about our eyesight and buy the cheap cheaters at the drug store instead of going for an actual eye exam and getting prescription glasses or worse yet bifocals! As women, we indulge in wrinkle creams for our eyes, necks, face, etc. and of course we color our hair to cover up the gray. Even men are in on the anti aging market with products such as, "Just For Men". Do we not realize what a privilege it is to get old? To grow old with the one you love?
TJ's life ended at the age of 49. He didn't have the privilege of growing old. I don't get to grow old with him. When I see an elderly man in the grocery store or at the gas station I frequently think of TJ. What would he have been like if he had grown elderly? Would he have been like the grumpy old man I saw in the grocery store the other day? Would life had dealt him some blow(s) to turn his happy go lucky attitude into disdain for his fellow man? Maybe. But, I think he would have been more like the elderly man I chatted with at the gas station just a few days ago. He was filling up his truck next to me and we immediately struck up a conversation. We talked about the weather and other mundane things but when I drove away I felt as though I had just made a friend. TJ always made people feel that way. Everyone liked TJ and his zest for life was contagious.
Growing old is a gift; something we should not be afraid of. Yes, I believe it is a privilege, a privilege that too many are denied.
Old wood best to burn, old wine to drink, old friends to trust, and old authors to read. - Francis Bacon
I so agree with you, Sandy. I plan on enjoying every drop of my aging process, as it is indeed, a gift. I also loved the Francis Bacon quote. So beautiful and so true.
ReplyDeleteLoved this post! Lovely thoughts from a woman who obviously has life pretty figured-out. So happy to be getting to know you, my friend!
I'm 70 now and I enjoy being old. I don't feel like I'm really old, but still. When I was younger, I never imagined I would feel like this at 70. And you are so right it is a privilege and something we should be grateful for and not try to hide.--Inger
ReplyDeleteYou are so right, Sandy. Growing older has been a pleasant surprise for me. For some reason I never expected to make old bones so had never thought about what it would be like. And it's pretty darn good!
ReplyDeleteLove the quote! :)
It's a gift - to make people feel friendship on the first conversation. I wish I could do that, but I'm much too standoffish.
ReplyDeleteAnd we worry so much about growing old that we're not living life in the moment.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Sandy!
I'm squinting at the screen to reach this because I don't want to go to the eye doctor.
ReplyDeleteTouche.