Hey, let’s hear it for me…I am now officially old!
I know that I am old because I am now using a walker to get around in the house. I-do-not-like-using-a- walker, but my balance is shot to hell. I’m still in the process of finding out what actually happened that I have reached this stage of my life. Be that as it may, I have reached it. I can always hope that it’s just a middle ear infection – ha, ha, ha – but I fear that it’s just one of those things that can happen when one passes 81 or so.
There is one other thing that could be causing my balance problem. I have changed my diet. When my weight hit 261 pounds I decided that enough was enough. My big meal is now lunch. It consists of whatever I wish to consume. Well, that’s not quite true, but I do limit myself to Healthy Choice meals or a sandwich with chips. Breakfast is a container of fruit in its own juices and a bottle of Nantucket Nectar’s Orange Mango. Then it’s off to the gym. Shortly after getting home, I will have a mug of hot chocolate [with whipped cream, of course!]. At night, I eat a bowl of cornflakes with lots of berries, either blue or black. To date, I’ve lost about 18 pounds. Now, the question becomes…am I eating enough to satisfy my bodily requirements? I guess we’ll learn that soon enough.
But enough about me. We all age differently. I know people who are in their fifties who are already old. They complain of this ailment or that ailment and, frankly, I wouldn’t mind being that age again. It is what it is. We can let all of these aches and pains destroy us, or we can get on with our lives. Sure, there will be things we can no longer do…as well…or at all. Kiss what you can’t do goodbye and look forward to what you can do. Let me give you an example. I was with some visitors one day and showing them our athletic facilities. While on the gym floor, kids were playing basketball, just shooting around. One of them tossed a ball at me. “Hey, Mr. B, show us your shot. So I did. The ball never got within three feet of the hoop. I could blame the suit coat I was wearing or a dozen other excuses, but the truth is, I no longer had the hand/eye coordination to put that ball where I wanted it to go…and that’s okay. I’ll find another sport…or not…that will be more closely aligned with the skills I do have. What I’m not going to do is try to relive the “glory days” when I could shoot a basketball from outside the three-point line and, like Stephen Curry, turn around and head back to the other end of the court because I knew it would go in.
Yes, it is true that as we age, newspapers reduce the size of their type…just for us. And yes, the risers on the stairs are a bit higher…just for us. Add to that, that actors are speaking more softly than they used to, and you have every right to state that you have become old. Personally, I just believe it shows that God has a sense of humor.
As I have passed the four score mark in my life, I also find that I’ve become a racist. Yes, you read that correctly, “a racist.” I have zero tolerance for people who complain that they are being held back by this group or that group. You’re wrong. Get off your ass; find a way to get the education you need and go after the American Dream. You may never achieve it, but you’ll at least have given yourself a shot at it. If you are of a different skin color or have a name that smacks of something different, that’s tough, but it’s nothing more than another obstacle to overcome…and you can overcome it. Others have done it. Black, brown, yellow, or red, it doesn’t matter: If you have the guts to persevere and get up every time some son-of-a-bitch knocks you down, you will attain most of your dream…perhaps not all, but most of it. Don’t believe it? I was unjustly fired from a job when I was 40. I was unemployed for three years. The job I finally found required a seven thousand dollar pay cut. However, the next 20 years on that ‘new’ job brought me more than money ever could; it brought me enjoyment and the ability to do things I never thought possible.
You see, I don’t happen to believe that money is everything in our lives. Sure, it enables us to buy whatever toys we think we want, but life’s satisfaction does not come from the almighty dollar. It comes when you realize that you are doing something that brings you joy. Okay, so you can’t buy the big boat or the summer place in the Hampton’s…so what? Are they really all that important in the grand scheme of things? If you answer yes, I feel sorry for you. I pity you. I’ll pray for you…because that’s not what life is all about. Life is about feeling a sense of accomplishment at the end of each day. Life is about offering an “attaboy” to someone with whom you work or receiving the same from a colleague. Life is about planting a small garden in the back yard and watching flowers bloom or picking tomatoes off the vine. Life is finding that one person you cannot live without and who feels the same about you. Life is watching your children grow and because of the manner in which you have brought them up, succeed far beyond what you achieved. Life is just so much more than making money. Yet, that appears to be the criterion upon which we base our illusion of success.
If I sound like Pollyanna, I guess it’s because I have taken the time to reflect on what my own life has been. There have been plenty of ups and downs but in the aggregate, my life has been pretty damned fine. Our three children have certainly surpassed us in terms of their accomplishments. None are in rehab or jail. All are married and raising a trio of their own. Certainly, I wish that my wife was still living but death visits all of us sooner or later. If you’re over 65 – even if you’re not – I invite you to look back and focus on all of the good in your life. Yes, I’m aware that there may be some people who think, in retrospect, that their life really sucked, but for the rest of you…I hope you’ll bring a smile to your face.
Dick Bishop
Dick Bishop's Blog