He IS As Close To 40 As He Is To 30

From the comments section of my last post:

*gently reminds him he IS as close to 40 as he is to 30*


Hee.

moon1178


(Moon, I hope you don't mind me using your comment--I appreciate the humor!)

It's interesting that this comes up. I've discussed this in converstation and email with people recenly, so if you've heard this or read this, forgive me for repeating myself.

I like getting older. The age thing is not really one of my hot buttons. I'm comfortable with my age, because it really doesn't matter to me how old I am. You can be rough with me when you remind of me how old I am. You don't need to be gentle. Call me "old paint" if you want. Send me adult diapers and some "hairpiece in a can" for my next birthday. Honestly. It's the thought that counts. I can always sell them on Ebay. Oh, and if anyone's making a list, don't bother with the nose/ear hair trimmer. My mother already bought me one as a Christmas gift.

Enough with the wish list. The thing is, I'm not between 30 and 40. I'm here. Now. I'm in the present, and the present is bookended by the past and the future. Both are infinite. In terms of a human life, I might be living the last year of my 35 years, or I might be living the first third of my 105 years. Whichever it is, all I really have is the present.

I appreciate the present, and the challenges I face, moment-to-moment. I enjoy being able to try new solutions for old problems. I'm more patient now. I find myself trying to figure things out like a puzzle. Part of that involves recognizing old or existing patterns and dealing with those in new and different ways. Believe it or not, this is actually fun for me, now.

Finally, here's an email I sent to someone a while back that pretty much sums up how I feel about getting older:

Part of getting older, I guess, is learning that the stuff you thought was so ridiculously cheesy when you were young actually carries some weight or meaning. I used to think that stuff like "I'm thirty- or forty- or fifty- something (fill in the blank) and I'm really beginning to appreciate the mysteries that life has to offer," was something that older people told themselves to rationalize getting older but, you know, it's all kind of making sense to me about now. Life IS a mystery, and it's a challenge, and I'm actually enjoying the rise to life's challenge now. I don't feel like life is beating me, because it's just what it is, and you have to find your own peace (sound vague and annoying enough for you?). I'm getting older, and maybe even enjoying it to some degree.

So, there it is. Really, I'm not lamenting the loss of my youth, and I'm not worried too much about old age. All I really hope is that any retirement home that I end up in will play The Ramones over the PA. Rock N' Roll Retirement Home. That's just where I want to be.