Young to Middle age to Old

Why is is surprising to get old? You just wait around for a long time, keep living your life, and after a while if you are lucky enough to stay reasonably healthy, you’re actually old. Which is to say that I am actually old. You may not be. Things that imprint on you early in life tend to hang around, no matter how outdated. I went off to college at 16 1/2, too young to feel comfortable with my new situation. I was used to being the youngest. And now, in most situations, I’m the oldest. So far I am very lucky: my energy is good, if you don’t look at me too closely I still look good, and I have almost no aches and pains. This is not to be taken for granted, and I am grateful. Some of my good fortune is self care, some is luck, and some of it is genetics.

I think a lot about the passage of time. My husband Stan and I actually have two great grandchildren. This is so weird and so wonderful. As I watch the generations come and go, I think about those who came before me and those who are just starting out in life. The flow of time and life through these temporary bodies is so poignant, so marvelous, and sometimes so painful. I’m going to attach a video of a song I wrote called, “So Little Time in the World.”