Monday, August 20, 2018

The Benefits of Age

       It’s true, getting older means getting wrinkles, being less agile, getting tired more easily.

       Yet age also has benefits. People tend to be more courteous to you, more respectful, more solicitous. 

       I must admit though, it does come as a shock when a gook-looking young man walks right by me without even noticing me. And then I remember my age—I could be his ma’, maybe his grandma.

       The other day a six- or seven-year old boy truly warmed my heart. He and his friend were joyfully running out a door. When he saw me, a total stranger, he stopped, thought for a moment, and then hurried back to open the door for me. May his parents be blessed.

       One of the benefits of age is having survived the years of Sturm und Drang, of having found a niche and a direction. We are more certain about our future. We rarely get rattled anymore.

       You may still not like the idea of getting older. Then think of the alternative—no, not of getting younger though it may sound appealing, but of saying farewell to family and friends, to the eternal blue sky and to life itself. It may still be worth living. We’ll never know.

       Until next time,



       Rosi