GETTING OLD

Sometimes we need to talk (or write) about topics that are somewhat depressing and, thus, typically avoided.  "Getting Old" is certainly such one of those such topics, especially for those who have passed the half-century mark, such as myself (and then some).

For those of us who are lucky enough to have reached and surpassed that age and who have also been blessed to have children, there should be a slew of collected precious moments within our memories along with ongoing such moments.  Hopefully, most of them were enjoyable and only a few reached the frustration level.  Parents' most treasured memories standardly reflect the day(s) of our child(ren)'s birth.  As time goes on, we then continually brag about each offspring, including topics about our child(ren) which most folks find overly boring: the first time they mumbled a word, crawled, walked, got good grades, etc.  Later, we then get to brag about their wedding, their own child/children, etc.

Speaking of their child/children, I can personally express the over-the-top love grandparents offer their grandchildren!  I have two (a grandson and a granddaughter) and feel that I probably brag more about them than I originally did when my daughter was growing up in the past.

As our time flies, we all wonder how we got here - to an age that seemed to have arrived without much warning.  For me, it happened in stages:  graduating to high school, graduating from high school, becoming 20, becoming 30, and then every 5th year of age that has followed throughout my life since then.  Other associated moments (for some) that seem to bookmark our zoomed-by years of life include our own marriage(s), employment growth or movement to another employer, and then the birth(s) as mentioned above of our child(ren) and grandchild(ren).

We can each hope that our lives have the least number of disappointments and sufferings.  I believe we all want some defining moment(s) that represents our legacy.  For me, my legacy is my daughter.  I can only hope that she will have the same opportunities that my wife and I were given.  I also hope that she will utilize the teachings we instilled along with the lead-by-example actions we took and demonstrated to her.  (By the way, as I wrote this, such teachings and examples are still being demonstrated by us to her.)  She has already passed some of the aforementioned time periods herself, but obviously she's way behind us!

Time stops for no one and none of us live forever.  I'll awkwardly state here that, as I'm "Getting Old", I will continue to feel confident that my legacy will carry on now, and after I pass.  Again, I know that some of these statements seem depressing, but they are based on reality.  I, as a writer, had to put these points into writing - after all, it's also part of my legacy (a good one).