I'm a meme

 

I've seen multiple memes in recent days that articulate and celebrate some of the things that happen when you reach a certain age. I guess you know you're getting old when stating your age requires a calculation.

"Well, I was born in 1967, and it's 2024 now...." I thought out loud. "I guess that means I am 57."

My age, once something that trippled tripplingly off my tongue now gets stuck in the back of my throat. 

Heather and I just finished watching a show starring Ted Danson called The Man on the Inside. The former lead in Cheers (some 40 years ago) is now playing a senior in his mid-70s. As his character sat down with his morning coffee to work on his crossword puzzle, we both started to laugh. I do the same when I have my breakfast. I typically leave my phone out in the studio and quietly sit testing my brain with a book of crosswords that I've been working on for the better part of a year. 

Staying up beyond 9 pm is an achievement and sleeping in past 6 am is a rarity. I'm often slipping out of bed five to ten minutes before the small hand settles at the south end of the clock. 

I don't fear or begrudge the aging process. In fact, I get somewhat sentimental about it. I still discover new things about myself and get excited about new knowledge. I listen to a lot of podcasts, political and historical mainly, and learn something new all the time. As an example, how did I go through 50 years of life and not know that Eleanor Roosevelt, the wife of the former President, was always a Roosevelt? That was a super interesting insight to me. She was a distant cousin to FDR on the Roosevelt side of the family that was decidedly Republican. Teddy Roosevelt, the President near the turn of the previous century was her favourite uncle. 

In watching "The Man on the Inside" I could relate to the need for human connection and having things in my life that give me a sense of purpose and meaning. I'm not retired yet - and likely won't ever be, truly - but getting up and doing stuff is essential to who I am. The fact that I get to create something almost every day as my primary vocation feels like a gift to me. Though I equally appreciate being able to shovel snow, prepare meals, do laundry, and the sundry other things that fill my days between brush strokes. I'm grateful for life and take none of it for granted.