Good grief! How did I
get here?……Turning 85 years old isn’t for sissies! I’m a “wanna be” 50-year-old. That’s right – 50-year-old! I have no desire to go through all that
hassle of hard knocks in life again.
Everybody goes through that; I don’t care what they say. It’s a rite of passage for most every young
adult. You know the story. We think we know everything, but we don’t
have a clue. Well, I’d just like to skip
that part and be 50 years old and start from there again.
It was somewhere around this age that I figured out I could
actually do something other than cook, wash clothes, and raise a family and
that it was alright to do it. Prior to
that, my entire married life had been wrapped up in the daily needs of my
family, first and foremost. Most of
those years included working a job outside the home as well, so having time or
energy for hobbies wasn’t an option. The
housework, going to work, ironing, polishing shoes, washing shoestrings,
helping with homework, and all over again was my daily routine. Then
came the empty nest. Who was I?
All of a sudden, I felt like a whole new world had opened up
to me! I wanted to learn how to do
things that maybe I’d only thought about, or something I’d always wanted to do,
but never had time. I wanted to read
more. I wanted to volunteer and visit
the elderly. I had a real thirst for
just learning, for the sheer knowledge of it.
Gardening, sewing, baking, books, art, choral music, travel, civic clubs and lots of things that I had not
had an opportunity to be exposed to or participate in. Even
computers! And the internet! And then Google! It was a miracle! Life was wonderful!
Now I don’t want you to think that all this knowledge that I
suddenly craved turned me into a walking encyclopedia or Queen of all things
good. Far from it! I’m still dumb as a box of rocks and my
attention span is about that of a five-year-old. This is compounded by the fact that I was
diagnosed with epilepsy a few years ago and will have to take anti-seizure
medication for the rest of my life. My
claim to fame is that this medication is the whole reason I sometimes come
across as somewhat goofy and
therefore, it explains my occasional goofiness.
But it hasn’t totally fried my brain and I still have the love for a good book,
good music, beautiful flowers, antiques, especially textiles and fine needlework
and exquisite silver. I’m not an expert
at anything and a master of nothing. But
I’ve managed to try just about
everything on my bucket list and plan to keep trying.
Age isn’t kind to most of us in many respects. The miseries caused by natural processes now prohibit
many of my exciting and fulfilling activities.
But I still love to learn. I
still find myself Googling words and phrases or looking for things that I hear
about that I want to know more about. My
body doesn’t keep up with my mind as good as it used to. And my mind doesn’t keep up with Google and
the computer. I don’t cook much, and my
back doesn’t like to pull weeds and my fingers hurt when I sew. My eyes don’t see as good to read, but I’m
still doing my best to do all that I can.
What better way to laugh than to communicate and share funny stories with
those you love! Besides, I need to keep
my smile muscles from atrophying.
That, my friends, is what makes life worth living. Doing something that gives you joy and
creates in your mind and soul a peace and fulfillment that gives instant
gratification. Once that is gone, you
lose a part of your life that is difficult to replace. Sometimes, it is irreplaceable. I’ve
still got some living to do. You only
get to go around once.
