Now That You"re An Old Fart
The first time you get that telltale letter in the mail from the AARP, that begins with "Greetings; Now that you're officially (an old fart) ...
", suddenly it hits you.
I actually dropped the thing on the street like a hot poker, when I realized who it was from.
Not yet, ...
I'm not ready for that stage yet! I remember as a kid, thinking anyone over fifty was r-e-a-l-l-y old.
They all had white hair, and needed to be helped across the street.
Now on this side of the coin, I scoff at the idea of not being mobile (though my knees do seem to be pretty good barometers these days), and I've only found a few white hairs ...
so far.
I've always used phrases like, "Don't throw anything away, you might need it later.
", which I'm sure, came from my parent's memory of the Depression, ...
but I am trying to kick that habit.
(I'll bet there's a "Closets Anonymous" out there somewhere!) I admit, I do have to catch myself when the ever reoccurring topic of conversation, turns to "the price of gas these days".
My earliest memory of gas stations, involved pulling in, and seeing a young guy run out and say, "Fill 'er up?".
My Dad would sometimes get out and chat with him, as he checked our oil and water, and cleaned the windshield.
(I think gas was 30 cents/gal..
) The older I get, the more I hesitate sharing this in a casual conversation.
The first time I saw the look of awed horror on a co-worker's face, as she struggled to comprehend the fact that I might be that old, I decided to just store that info away.
(Granted she was only 18, but somehow you never really forget that feeling when some other adult mentally classifies you as "ancient".
) For years, it was easy to guess someone's age by asking, "Where were you when Kennedy was shot?".
(It was such a shared karmic moment for everyone alive then, that each person had a vivid memory of where they were, ...
when time stood still.
) But the first time I asked that question, and saw a guy's puzzled face as he said, "Robert?", I decided it had run it's course.
I laugh a bit about getting caught at the grocery store on "Old Fart's Day" (usually mid-week), when I find myself the fastest thing on 4+ wheels in the store.
However, the day a cashier looked up at me, smiled, and said, "Do you qualify for our Senior Discount?", I admit I bristled a bit.
Still, ...
I find myself starting to get comfortable with the idea that I'll probably never be an astronaut in this life.
I don't think I'll ever be a Supreme Court Justice, or run a horse ranch out West either, ...
but that's okay.
I'm paring down my life list.
I was recently talking with an old friend (who seems to be in the throws of a late mid-life crisis), and I queried, "What do you want to do with the rest of your life?".
I know we all have heard that phrase, at several periods in our lives.
When you're young, the question seems too broad and unanswerable.
"There's plenty of time to figure it out.
" Then you hit your mid-life stage, where you start looking around and wondering, "How did I get here?".
But I believe, when you ask that question later in life, you need to be more honest with yourself.
No kidding around, ...
what would make you happy enough to do it for the rest of your life? (If you can figure that out, then you need to go towards it with your whole heart.
) Granted, it's not like you could just snap your fingers, and "poof, ...
the perfect life" pops-up.
But part of the benefit, is the process of delving into something you love.
Being able to ask any question your head can come up with (because you really DO want to know the answer), makes the whole ride worthwhile.
Time becomes more precious in the "grand scheme of things" (as my mother used to say), and I'm becoming less likely to "suffer fools well".
I don't really want to waste my time, doing things I don't enjoy, around people that make me unhappy.
It's just not worth it.
So here I sit, working on "the rest of my life's" goal.
I'm in the process of figuring it all out, and if I stumble or have to backtrack a bit, that's okay, because I'm enjoying myself more than I have in quite awhile.
I have a Theory of Life.
"Everything in life is either a lesson, ...
or a happy time.
If you're not happy, there's a lesson you're supposed to be learning.
So you'd better keep your eyes, ears, mind, and heart open to that fact.
" Here's wishing you an abundance of happy times, ...
for the rest of your life!
", suddenly it hits you.
I actually dropped the thing on the street like a hot poker, when I realized who it was from.
Not yet, ...
I'm not ready for that stage yet! I remember as a kid, thinking anyone over fifty was r-e-a-l-l-y old.
They all had white hair, and needed to be helped across the street.
Now on this side of the coin, I scoff at the idea of not being mobile (though my knees do seem to be pretty good barometers these days), and I've only found a few white hairs ...
so far.
I've always used phrases like, "Don't throw anything away, you might need it later.
", which I'm sure, came from my parent's memory of the Depression, ...
but I am trying to kick that habit.
(I'll bet there's a "Closets Anonymous" out there somewhere!) I admit, I do have to catch myself when the ever reoccurring topic of conversation, turns to "the price of gas these days".
My earliest memory of gas stations, involved pulling in, and seeing a young guy run out and say, "Fill 'er up?".
My Dad would sometimes get out and chat with him, as he checked our oil and water, and cleaned the windshield.
(I think gas was 30 cents/gal..
) The older I get, the more I hesitate sharing this in a casual conversation.
The first time I saw the look of awed horror on a co-worker's face, as she struggled to comprehend the fact that I might be that old, I decided to just store that info away.
(Granted she was only 18, but somehow you never really forget that feeling when some other adult mentally classifies you as "ancient".
) For years, it was easy to guess someone's age by asking, "Where were you when Kennedy was shot?".
(It was such a shared karmic moment for everyone alive then, that each person had a vivid memory of where they were, ...
when time stood still.
) But the first time I asked that question, and saw a guy's puzzled face as he said, "Robert?", I decided it had run it's course.
I laugh a bit about getting caught at the grocery store on "Old Fart's Day" (usually mid-week), when I find myself the fastest thing on 4+ wheels in the store.
However, the day a cashier looked up at me, smiled, and said, "Do you qualify for our Senior Discount?", I admit I bristled a bit.
Still, ...
I find myself starting to get comfortable with the idea that I'll probably never be an astronaut in this life.
I don't think I'll ever be a Supreme Court Justice, or run a horse ranch out West either, ...
but that's okay.
I'm paring down my life list.
I was recently talking with an old friend (who seems to be in the throws of a late mid-life crisis), and I queried, "What do you want to do with the rest of your life?".
I know we all have heard that phrase, at several periods in our lives.
When you're young, the question seems too broad and unanswerable.
"There's plenty of time to figure it out.
" Then you hit your mid-life stage, where you start looking around and wondering, "How did I get here?".
But I believe, when you ask that question later in life, you need to be more honest with yourself.
No kidding around, ...
what would make you happy enough to do it for the rest of your life? (If you can figure that out, then you need to go towards it with your whole heart.
) Granted, it's not like you could just snap your fingers, and "poof, ...
the perfect life" pops-up.
But part of the benefit, is the process of delving into something you love.
Being able to ask any question your head can come up with (because you really DO want to know the answer), makes the whole ride worthwhile.
Time becomes more precious in the "grand scheme of things" (as my mother used to say), and I'm becoming less likely to "suffer fools well".
I don't really want to waste my time, doing things I don't enjoy, around people that make me unhappy.
It's just not worth it.
So here I sit, working on "the rest of my life's" goal.
I'm in the process of figuring it all out, and if I stumble or have to backtrack a bit, that's okay, because I'm enjoying myself more than I have in quite awhile.
I have a Theory of Life.
"Everything in life is either a lesson, ...
or a happy time.
If you're not happy, there's a lesson you're supposed to be learning.
So you'd better keep your eyes, ears, mind, and heart open to that fact.
" Here's wishing you an abundance of happy times, ...
for the rest of your life!
Source...