IS GROWING OLD A LUXURY?

I just “celebrated” my 77th birthday. I put that word “celebrated” in quotation marks because I’m not sure if it was a celebration or just an affirmation of spending another glorious day here on this 3rd rock from the sun. Friends and family will affirm your special day, sending thoughts of happiness and hopes of a better day spent than yesterday or the day before. But in reality, it is just another day when you get older. You still have your routine, which include taking your meds, dressing, showering, eating meals, running errands and perhaps taking that much needed afternoon nap. This, to me is one of the most enjoyable perks of being an old geezer. FYI… it was even better when we had three furry felines.

There are certainly many more advantages of growing older. That unpredictable turbulence of our youth is gone. There is a lot less of having to challenge life’s events anymore, so less schedules means less stress. We older folks tend to withdraw into our own world and go about our days doing simpler things like gardening, reading, going out for walks or bike rides, and cooking. Nowadays, we often close out or retreat from our social media accounts (I did that over 6 years ago), and stop reading that our niece’s youngest child pooped today, and that Beyonce broke a heel off of her $10,000 pair of jewel-encrusted pumps at her last concert. Oh, and don’t get me started on politics. That in itself is a fire burning out of control, and the less I know about it the more peaceful my little world becomes.

I’ve also noticed that as I age, I don’t try to seek out many new friends, because the old and tested ones become dearer. A simple lunch at Mable’s Diner with a friend becomes as cherished and memorable as that time one Christmas when I got a coveted 3-stage plastic Atlas Rocket as a present.

Some people say that as you age, you live more in the present and less in the future. For me it’s the short term goals,like taking that next travel adventure with my spouse, or making that next lasagna meal in my volunteer work to help out a deserving family.

One other thing about aging is that we see things in a whole new light. We see new beauty in familiar things. A mallard duck swooping in and landing on the retention pond in the yard, a young mother at a playground with a gigantic smile on her face and outstretched arms calling for her young child, or a middle-aged carpenter showing his budding apprentice the proper way to set a door joist in place, and his huge smile for a job well done. These sights were always familiar, but now seem to have a greater impact on me. Old age is not just a time of life, but also a quality of mind.

This was truly exemplified by something I experienced not too long ago.

I was out doing errands one Wednesday morning, when I decided to stop at the Upper Crust bakery and cafe in the next town over. I was seated at a table near one wall and looked out over the cafe to a number of other tables. I had already placed my order with the waitress and was sitting there quietly sipping my coffee. After a bit, an older man walked in and stepped up to the counter. He ordered a coffee, and the gal set down a large to-go cup for him. He reached into a metal bin, grabbed a bunch of little creamers, and sauntered over to an empty table very close to mine. He removed his sweater and cap, put them on the empty chair, and reached for the packets of sugar on the table. He proceeded to open two of them and emptied them into his cup. Then he opened each one of the 5 creamers and poured the contents into the steaming cup of coffee. He gently pulled off the coverings from each of the creamers and laid the empty containers out in front of himself.

I watched in amazement at what he did next. One by one, he took each empty plastic creamer vessel and dipped it into the large cup to fill it with coffee. He placed each one down and proceeded to fill all the others. Once they were filled, he gulped each one, starting with the first and I guess the coolest one. When they were all empty, he did it all over again. With each set of five gulps, he sat back in his chair and smiled as if to say, “I am really enjoying this wonderful cup of tepid delicious coffee… one gulp at a time.” I couldn’t help but think that this simple act was fulfilling his desire for his morning coffee, and also bringing him much inner satisfaction and peace of mind. There was no checking his smartphone for an insignificant message, no checking his watch to find out that an appointment was coming up and no laptop keyboard there to update a proposal that was overdue yesterday. This was a person who was content with himself and knew how to be quiet within. I’d bet that he was still smiling long after he left that cafe. If this simple little afternoon gesture is one of the luxuries of getting older, then I cannot wait until my 78th birthday.

Thanks for reading my blog. I hope you enjoyed this life story and if you haven’t already subscribed to my blog, please do so, and leave a comment. I love to get feedback.

Lenny