It’s tough getting older. I look in the mirror, and I think I see the face of an 18-year-old kid blasting down the highway in my red 1965 Impala SS with the windows rolled down. I see my hair blowing in the wind; the music is so loud, that people across the county could sing along with it if they wished.
But that’s not what the mirror shows, my beard is now grey as wood ash, and my hair, well it flew south with the geese years ago.
But no matter, I don’t feel that old, well most days I don’t. I did a book signing a few weeks ago and several people came up to me and said, “ You’re younger that I thought.”
Of course I said “ thank you” but my mind wrestled with what they said, trying to decode the message.
Either I write like I’m really old, or the picture I use in the paper does not do me justice. I can fix the picture, but my writing style, that’s more of a challenge.
I should have asked why they thought I was older and then the path forward would have been simpler.
These days, besides my thoughts on my age/writing style we have discussed adding a storm shelter to our house. After all it’s spring and James Spann know how to put the fear in you when he takes his jacket off and rolls up his sleeves.
Jilda and I were tossing ideas around and I suggested expanding her bathroom and adding a garden tub with a Jacuzzi.
We were driving down the road when I made the suggestion and I had just swallowed a sip of sweet tea. Jilda said, “ at our age, it might be better to install wheelchair ramps and add a shower with a door wide enough for a walker and a wheelchair.”
I spewed my tea all over the dash and laughed so hard I choked. Her humor is subtle and sometimes twisted and she throws it at me at inopportune moments.
I regained my composure, took a napkin and wiped down the dash.
What she said was funny but right on the mark. We have friends and family whose homes have so many steps they will need a forklift when their knees go.
Aging is not for wimps and there are no manuals. We have taken good care of ourselves, eating right (most of the time) exercising almost daily, we wear our seat belts and try to live life in moderation. Hopefully we both will have 30 more years.
I’d like to think that we might be frolicking in the Jacuzzi at age 90; the truth is if we live, we will probably be using those ramps, wheelchairs and walkers.
When you think about it, aging can be downright scary so you just have to laugh about it and hope for the best.
