My Greatest Fear as I Age

       Each new bump, mole, and brown spot; each new ache in whatever lucky body part; each new, superfluous bowel sound; each new offbeat and  clanking, harsh and jarring song attacking one's hairy ears; each new short nap necessary to keep one going the rest of the day---each of these is a forewarning of my journey's ultimate and persistently approaching  destination. One needs a considerable sense of humor to appreciate the actuality of the matter appropriately.

       In utter truth though, one can do little or nothing about it---so why not laugh at it and forge ahead? A friend once told me life is a walking along, with your body parts once in a while exclaiming, "Really?" Another said he always planned carefully before bending over to pick up something to be sure he got anything else he might need while down there. One laughs heartily as he tells of buying a new car one afternoon and waking up the next morning surprised to find a new Buick in his driveway.

       That memory thing is the real rub! It's possibly my greatest fear as I age. Is it perhaps dementia? Is it Alzheimer's setting in? Is it nothing at all? Is it normal "forgetting"? I sometimes forget the details. Sometimes I cannot remember anything of various events in my past. Sometimes, I tell a story incorrectly without a clue I'm doing so till someone kindly corrects me. But, am I doing okay? Yeah, I think so. Many of those things are of little import anyway. One really can enjoy the present without superbly detailed memories of the past.

       I'm told, by folks very concerned about my welfare, that you know you're  getting old when your face wrinkles, your hair grays---but, more so, when you start listing signs of getting old. My doctor recently complimented me on my good health. I said, "Well, Doc, I never drank, I quit smoking, and every night when I get up to go to the bathroom, the good Lord turns the light on for me." To which Jan quickly replied, "That explains who's been peeing in the fridge!"