Aging

I have a birthday coming up in a couple of weeks. I'll be 58.
More and more I'm noticing the physical signs of aging. I notice it in the decreasing physical strength, flexibility and stamina. The things that were once easy, now seem to be more of a task. I need to rest more often and now I feel the effects of exertion the following day.

Mentally, I still feel young, but do have occasional moments when I can't find the right word or moments when I lose a thought.

As frustrating as these things are, they are teaching me patience.
I know I am a young retiree. One of the consequences of this is that I often find myself at the store or other places with much older people; people that seem completely unaware of their surroundings and that seem to move in slow motion. It would be easy to become frustrated and annoyed by them (I sometimes do), but I've come to accept that this is their time in the store and I am the interloper.
If they are much older than me, I think that they could easily be my parents and try to treat them with respect and grace.

And as much as it pains me to think about it, I realize in a few years I may be the old guy standing in the middle of the aisle trying to remember what I'm supposed to be getting.
sigh

Even though we all realize that aging is a part of life, I think we often fail to think about it as it will affect us, personally. It's easy to say, "That will never be me," but then it happens and we are the old person moving slowly through the store and through life.

It's been said that we have no idea of the battles others are facing and so we should be kind to everyone.
Today, I choose to practice kindness and patience.
Truthfully, I need practice at both of them. I'm getting better, but still need the practice.

Growing old takes way more character than a young man realizes.

John <><