“When I get older, losing my hair,
Many years from now,
Will you still be sending me a valentine
Birthday greetings, bottle of wine?”
“If I’d been out til quarter to three,
Would you lock the door,
Will you still need me, will you still feed me,
When I’m 64?”
The Beatles
I recall when the Beatles released one of their hit songs in 1967, “When I’m Sixty-Four.”
I was a brash 18 year old senior at Redondo High School. My friends and I would often joke about elderly people and getting older.
“Can you imagine being 64 years old? I don’t want to live that long that’s ancient!”
We all agreed that 64 years old was way too old to be alive, it was unimaginable. Well, it happened, I unceremoniously turned 64 last week and I’m still kickin,’sort of.
With age comes wisdom, or so we’re told. With my new-found understanding, I realize wisdom is overrated.
There’s a great, insightful line from a Bob Seeger song referring to his teen years, “I wish I didn’t know now what I didn’t know then.”
The ugly fact about aging is it’s such a personal thing. You’re the only one who truly knows how you really feel, mentally, physically and spiritually.
For the last 10 years or so I’ve actually kept quiet as my birthday approached. The fewer people who knew the better. Honestly, it’s not an occasion for celebration anymore.
Now don’t get me wrong: I’m not usually a downer like this. I love most holidays and thoroughly enjoy celebrating other people’s birthdays. I just can’t get all enthusiastic and animated about adding another candle to my ticking clock. I really am trying to get past this negative age thing, and confront it like a man; however, I’m not succeeding.
So, I decided to seek some help from those more astute and knowledgeable than myself. Here are a few insightful and inspiring axioms from around the globe that rallied me from my malaise. I hope they soothe those suffering from the nasty aging bug like me.
“It’s paradoxical that the idea of living a long life appeals to everyone, but the idea of getting old doesn’t appeal to anyone.” ?Andy Rooney
“You don’t stop laughing when you grow old: you grow old when you stop laughing.” ? George Bernard Shaw “Wisdom comes with winters.” ? Oscar Wilde “Men do not quit playing because they grow old; they grow old because they quit playing.” ? Oliver Wendell Holmes
“The key to successful aging is to pay as little attention to it as possible.” ? Judith Regan
Well, I don’t know about you, but I feel much better. Starting today I’m going to quit obsessing about my age and getting older. No more feeling sorry for myself.