I DON’T FEEL SEVENTY
January 2012
I just turned 73, and
the words of my dear mother come immediately to mind. She was 70 years old when she said, “Billy, I don’t feel
seventy”. At the time I mistakenly assumed she was referring to how she did or
did not feel physically, however, reflecting on my own experience with this
process we call ageing I realize now what she really meant.
As a young man I assumed
that as I aged physically, I would also age mentally and emotionally, seeing
and responding to the world with a mind-set that was unique and characteristic
of the elderly, because old people were different from young people, or so I
thought. I have since learned
otherwise. Yes, the years take their toll on our bodies, and the accumulation
of our experiences undoubtedly affects our attitudes and belief systems, but at
our core, the essence of whom and what we are remains unchanged. We see the
world through the same eyes, we receive and process the input from daily living
with the same hopes and fears that have defined us for all of our years. I
don’t look the same as I did ten years ago; I have aches and pains that I’ve
never had before, and I am keenly aware of how tenuous my future is, but I
still look twice at an attractive woman, I like the same music, and I have the
same fears, hopes, and personal quirks that I’ve had all of my life.
I don’t feel like I am
seventy-three.
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