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theGinsue

Aging

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As I see it, we have a simple choice of destinies (which really isn't our choice to make): We either grow older, or we die. I only wish that somewhere along the way (preferably in my youth) someone had pulled me aside and said "Son, you may have to get older, but you don't have to get old". Such sage advice might have saved me from all of the constant aches and pains in this 47 year old body. I'm dealing with the pain of old high school football injuries and painful knees and back from constant parachuting jumps. Thing is, I never played HS football nor have I ever felt the need or desire to jump out of a perfectly good airplane. As to the cause then of all of the aches and pains, I don't know. Just a lot of miles on this chassis I suppose.

So what, then, is the point of this post you ask? Yes, over the years I finally learned that I'm supposed to have a point to my stories. Well, today my beloved wife and I went to do our tactical Thanksgiving grocery shopping and started the day by getting breakfast at a Village Inn restaurant. We enjoyed a good meal with great service - that is, until I went to pay the bill. I presented the cashier with my ticket and a coupon. Try as he may, he couldn't get the coupon to be accepted. Turns out, you can only have 1 discount and my ticket already had a discount applied. You guessed it, our server had applied a SENIOR discount to our meals. Yeah, yeah. I can hear you all laughing hysterically at ths point (it sounds like my wife did when I returned to the table & explained why it took so long).

I'll concede that I have a great deal of gray in my beard, but I had assumed (yes Dad, I remember) that good clean living had earned me some reprieve from old Father Time wreaking havoc with my stellar good looks. Apparently, I was wrong.

In the end, I'll just have to accept that growing older is much better than dying, even if it means that Motrin and I will remain on a first name basis. I was once told that growing old is the best revenge. For whom, I'm still not sure, but it's the path I'm going to continue to trod as long as I can. Who knows, maybe I'll even get a few premature Senior discounts along the way.

Comments

  1. Troublco's Avatar
    I'm still about 4 years shy of where you're at, but I agree with the mileage. Dirt bike wrecks, side jobs doing concrete and decks, building barns, yada yada. I find it difficult to straighten up sometimes. After I've been on my feet for several hours at work, if I sit down for very long the old dogs are barkin'.

    But I haven't gotten a senior discount automatically applied yet!
  2. zteknik's Avatar
    Ah yes,the trick to learn is to age gracefully.

    Now after all the years I can finaly understand what my parents were trying to tell me.Again that old saying with age there is wisdom.It just took me a whole heck of a lot longer
    But every once in a while I catch myself telling my children the same things my parents tried telling me.At that point I have to stand back and reflect to when I was that age and what did I do?I still tell them hoping for a bit of it to sink in like my parents hoped somthing would sink in with me. a bit did so I know there is some hope.
  3. Mazin's Avatar
    Yea its not fun being "no longer a spring chicken", I have noticed things don't quite heal the way they use to when I was a kid / young adult. I feel the biggest Idea is not to let you get caught up in the hype about being older and not doing the things you once did. People are living stronger and longer today, why grow old when you can just grow.

    I will say stay off the DB's, those things will break your arms [Coffee]
    Indeed I'm not a spring chicken anymore but if you don't actively enjoy yourself and do what you love then it becomes a matter of simply wasting time.
  4. GilpinGuy's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by zteknik
    Ah yes,the trick to learn is to age gracefully.

    Now after all the years I can finaly understand what my parents were trying to tell me.Again that old saying with age there is wisdom.It just took me a whole heck of a lot longer
    But every once in a while I catch myself telling my children the same things my parents tried telling me.At that point I have to stand back and reflect to when I was that age and what did I do?I still tell them hoping for a bit of it to sink in like my parents hoped somthing would sink in with me. a bit did so I know there is some hope.
    Yeah, what's that old saying? Something like, "My dad was such an idiot when I was a kid...it's amazing how much he's learned since then". Of course, the opposite is true and it only appeared that way to the kid growing up. The kid was the idiot.
  5. cstone's Avatar
    Who said We are old? I just need more time to relax between activities
  6. BPTactical's Avatar
    The phrase would be: "When I was a child, I was afraid of what my father did not know. Now that I am a man, I am amazed at what he did know"
    If I would have known I was gonna make it this far I would have taken better care of myself.