Growing Younger at Heart

My mom has always looked younger than her years. Fortunately, I've inherited her youthful looks. Yet I am on the tail end of the baby boomer generation and if mom has gray and thinning hair in her 60's, then that's probably what I can expect too. My body has its battle scars and I'll never be a fashion model. Sometimes after making love I am sore the following day. I happily limp out of bed with a smile on my face though. Being sore just reminds me how I got that way.

I've learned that looking at the "brighter side" of life really helps to combat the misery of aging. My 85 year old grandmother is still alive, but she is always in the hospital these days. When I talk to her, she usually has a funny story to share or something to laugh about. Sometimes she "admits" she only went to the hospital to check out the cute doctor's. I am thankful I have such a fun grandmother, and yet even typing this my thoughts try to take me to the inevitable. I don't want to think about her dying. Not only will I miss her but when she dies, my mother is next in line. The line is beginning to feel a bit like the express check-out lane at the grocery store!

The body to me is more like a space suit. I don't think of the body as "who I am" anymore but more of a vehicle that allows me to walk on earth without flying away. I feel less flexible in the right shoulder and left knee. My eye strength is not what it used to be and I don't always make it to the bathroom on time. I know that maintaining the body is important now, before I hit the golden years. On the mountain where I live there is an elderly man who runs everyday. He doesn't know it, but he is an inspiration to me.

My mother who is 20 years ahead of me, is coming for a visit next month. I have not seen her in 5 years! We both talked this weekend and shared our fears of seeing the changes in each other. By the end of the conversation we were laughing that we would go for a walk down the mountain, then send someone back for the car to take us back up!

I think having a good sense of humor really helps with life's hardships. I'm thankful for the fun elderly women in my life and hope that I will be a good role model for my children when the time comes.