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The Benefits of Oldage - Part II
By As I mentioned in my previous article, I am not ashamed to admit it. I have oldage. The diagnosis became clear when I began comparing my vocabulary with that of the younger generation. I am so afflicted that I thought a cursor was someone who swore a lot. I’ve used a rotary phone and had a party line. And a party line is not, “Would you like a ride home?” On my record player I listened to 45’s. I was thrilled when I got a good station on my first car’s A.M. Radio. Now the songs of my youth are elevator music. When I was 15 I was closer in time to WWI than my 15 year old grandson is to the Viet Nam War. Unlike the days of my youth, spicy foods and eating late at night keep me awake. As you can see, I am badly afflicted. But, having oldage is not all bad and I am beginning to enjoy some of its benefits. Oldage has freed me of several burdens that I carried on these stooped shoulders for years. I only wish that I could have come to these realizations when I was living through youngage. The following are additional benefits to oldage: I don’t have to spend a great amount of time with toxic people. Even if related, I only need to spend a limited amount of time with them. The Apostle John was never admonished by the Lord to be best friends with Diotrephes. This position does not give us license to wish harm upon those who do us harm or to rejoice in their suffering. Nor does it give us the right to treat anyone with malice or be vindictive toward them. However, if someone steals from you, forgive them, but you are not obligated to make them your book keeper. I have been freed from the burden of trying to make people like me who have shown they never will. I love my children and always want what is best for them but I am only one variable in their lives or the lives of others who are close to me. I am not solely responsible for who or what they become. When my adult children succeed, I am only one factor in that success. When my children fail to succeed in an endeavor, my input holds no more weight. I am free from the burden of owning the decisions others make, even my own wonderful children. Since I have oldage I don’t have to try to be cool. When I had youngage, I wanted to be “cool.” I think most younger people try to appear as though they are cool without realizing that if you really have to try, you probably aren’t. Wanting to be cool when you are young is understandable. When you get older, pretending to be youthfully cool can really be sad. With oldage, I don’t have to speak in “youthese” nor dress like I am twenty-five. I have been freed of this burden.
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