More Thoughts on Time

We chatted last week about time, mostly not having enough of it. This week we are also going to chat about time, specifically the passage of time. Each of us is getting older one day at a time. It's been said that getting older is better than the alternative, which I have always taken to mean that the only way you don't get older is to die. So I have to agree, getting older is a good thing. So why doesn't it really feel like a good thing?

The reminders of aging are all around us, in the way we snap, crackle and pop as we move. In the fact that bedtime seems to be getting earlier each year. And a glance in the mirror confirms that it's happening...gray hair, wrinkles, flabby muscles! 

This past weekend we had the occasion to see all of our great grandsons. Our Maverick, who is five, made sure I had a reality check. We hadn't seen him since Christmas and I asked him if he remembered playing the piano with me at Christmas. He nodded and said, "But you're older now." I nodded in agreement and moved on, done with that conversation. But Maverick gets points for persistence! He circled back in our conversation and asked, "How did  you get so old so fast?" I patted his head and moved on, clearly not having a really great answer for him. And maybe just a bit offended!

The physical ravages of age will happen. No amount of wrinkle cream or make up will change that. You might be fortunate to have some good genetics and be able to spend the money on products that might help a bit, but short of plastic surgery, you will show the signs of age! And, honestly, I'm not overly concerned about looking older. I've never been hung up on appearance, obviously, so looking older just seems natural. And Mike seems to be aging at about the same rate so we're a pair.

Except those occasions when we get a little reminder of our age, getting older hasn't been such a terrible thing. In fact, right now I actually feel younger than I have for most of the past 10 years. Those bum knees really took their toll on my age. The oldest I've ever been is 66 when my knees were all worn out and I had shingles. I believe my biological age at that point was somewhere around 90! So, even though I am apparently showing my age (in a 5-year old's opinion), I feel much younger than my current age of 68.

However, the way that I feel the oldest has nothing to do with physical condition or appearance. It has a lot more to do with feeling comfortable and relevant in this new world that's happening around me. 

I read about terms that I have no idea about. "Woke?" Well I woke up this morning so I guess I am woke. Google says it means "alert to injustice in society, especially racism." So I guess I woke up a long time ago and am a woman ahead of the times! Not sure why it took some so long to get woke.

One area that I quite often find myself behind the times on, other than my 5+ year old wardrobe, is in the area of technology. Seems I just get something figured out and things get upgraded. It's time for a new phone or my laptop updates and changes stuff. My kids used to be my go-to IT people, but I'm finding my grandkids have better answers than my kids these days. I want to stay up-to-date on technology since it isn't going away. I watched Mike's grandmother get left behind on technology and have to depend on her grands and great grands to do things for her online. She hated it and it took away a lot of her independence. The most advanced technology she ever conquered was the hand-held calculator! 

Another way I am feeling old these days is culturally. I find myself comparing today's culture to the era in which I grew up, mainly in the 60's through the early 70's. As I visit with my grandkids, I realize I am a relic. I have advice to share, and it's good advice learned through experience, both good and bad. But, just like the advice my elders tried to give me, it would most likely fall on deaf ears. 

My thoughts have come full circle with morality and how out of touch I feel morally. And yet morals are timeless. What was right 2000 years ago is still right today, even if people think the times are changing morally. In this instance, being marooned back in time is a good thing. I am simply too old to accept all this gender confusion stuff or all the sexual orientations I hear about but don't understand anyway. I still believe in honoring our elders and treating others with respect and in a way I would like to be treated myself. Honesty and responsibility and trustworthiness never go out of style. 

My view of old age has changed much through the years. I used to think grandmas wore dresses and sensible shoes and sat in their rocking chairs to knit. Today's grandmas can be anything they want to be. I don't own a dress that's been worn in the past 10 years. My most sensible shoes are my tennis shoes. And I knit anywhere I want to, don't even have a rocking chair. Grandmas can go out dancing on the town if they want. Many  older women are taking up fairly vigorous sports...not me but some do! 

Right now there are the most 60 and over people there have ever been in this world. We are the "baby boomers" so we are many! And even though this younger generation is throwing a bunch of new stuff our way, we are still the majority. So here's to "Senior Power!"