FROM MY FRONT PORCH Growing older comes with consequences

FROM MY FRONT PORCH

Growing older comes with consequences

SAM HOUSTON

Sam Houston is a syndicated columnist and newspaper executive. He is also an author, actor, playwright and entertainment producer/promoter.

Age is revered and respected by many cultures around the world. This is not so much the case in the United States. Instead of embracing aging, we seem to do everything we can to keep up the appearance of being young. Americans fight the advance of “age” like a gladiator competing in a Roman coliseum. They embrace special diets, exercise programs and supplements, all promising the maintenance of “youth.” BOTOX has become as common as a cup of coffee and seemingly, every consumer marketing effort directs people to think young, look young and act young. We are obsessed with youth.

Could it be because as we all get older, there are some aspects of the process which are not particularly fun? Most realities about aging are not considered until they strike home. For instance, who in their 20s imagines the difficulty of pulling on socks at age 70? As a 25-year-old, does one contemplate the anxiety of being 65, laying all warm and comfortable in bed, struggling as the urge to use the bathroom strikes for the third time that night? Do young people anticipate one day having the fear of climbing a ladder, the difficulty of bending over and picking up dropped items, or withstanding the seemingly endless cracks and creaks released as an older person up from a chair or rises from bed in the morning? I think not. Do we purposely avoid even considering the inevitable? Maybe? Is that why so many people refuse to prepare a will or prepurchase a burial plan? They do not want to consider the inevitable loss of youth?

I have found that generally, people consider old age to be 15 years older than their current age. When my mother was in her late 70s, she regularly attended a senior aerobics class. I still remember telephoning her one snowy day to learn of her disappointment in the class being canceled. She told me her instructor feared one of the “old people” in the class might fall on the ice and hurt themselves. Being in my 40s at the time, I reminded Mom that she was 77. I inquired who she believed those “old people” in her class were, knowing they were all over 70. She promptly explained, “it is certainly not me.” Mom never wanted to be considered “old.”

We don’t know what comes as we age, any more than we knew what to expect from adulthood when we were a teenager. We imagine and speculate, but until we experience it, we don’t really know or appreciate the inevitable changes. I guess uncertainty scares people from embracing the change and results in them trying to hold onto the past.

Today is the youngest I will ever be because tomorrow I will be just a little bit older. The train is running down the track. I’ve decided to get onboard and ride to the end of the line. When I get there, I will be beat up, used up, worn out, and will not look youthful nor be able to do what I could when I was 25. But I will have a big smile on my face, and I will be forever thankful for the ride.

Thought for the day: Old age is like everything else – to make it a success you have to start young.

Until next time.

sam@hcnews.com