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Age is really funny when you take a little time to think about it. From the first moment we are born, we are aging and heading towards our final demise. But during this process, we see the process itself quite differently.
When you are a child, you want to grow up. People even encourage you to grow up by saying things like, "What a big boy you are," when you have grown a few inches or "What a beautiful young lady," when you are all dressed for church. I realize people are just trying to be nice and that is OK. We don't really have a choice, we are growing up regardless. You don't really have to do anything to grow old but keep breathing, age happens automatically.
When you are a child, you want to be old enough to go to school like your older siblings. Often when people are in school, they want to get out. As a youngster, you want to be a teenager, next you want to be 16 so you can drive. The next big goal is to be 21 so you are finally on your own. The truth is that none of these self-imposed age limits are really a life-changing goal. They are just another number. Nothing magical happens at any specific age. The reality is many 30-plus year olds are still living at home with their parents.
There is one age-related thing that definitely does occur and that is age 21. At that time, everyone learns quickly that age is just a number and the value of life is in the living.
In our youth, we may see age as something that will bring us happiness, success, love or money; however, the truth is that all lies within us at any age in our personal attitude, values and acceptance of what we are, where we are and what we can do to control our own destination.
Age is something we often don't see in ourselves, but quickly recognize in others. We first see it in our parents or in classmates from school that we haven't seen in some time. The thing we seldom realize is that the age we see in others is like looking into a mirror of our own reflection.
I normally have never thought of my age in regard to what I plan to do or try to accomplish even though I have seen more sunrises in my past than are ahead in my future.
However, that changed recently when I went to pay my local property taxes, which is done in a small-yard shed-type building with room for only one customer at a time. The building is only open for a short number of hours, and due to the recent rainy weather, people stayed in their cars until the "office" door opened. Everyone exited their vehicles and politely moved forward and I watched the first person, a tiny older woman, enter, making me second in line. After a short time, she exited and I entered. As we passed, I sensed something seemed strangely familiar about her. As she stepped down from the small porch, I called out her name. Turning, she smiled, waved and stepped into the drizzle, making room for those behind me. She and her husband were great friends of my wife and I years ago, but we had not seen each other for some time. It then dawned on me that I was older than her, and while I assumed she was a little old lady, that made me a little much-older man.
Regardless of your age, remember life is for the living. Enjoy yourself, be kind, be happy and be sure to thank those who have given you the opportunity to or helped you have a successful life. Regardless of our age, we all are simply just around the turn from the finish line.
John Kasun writes from his home in Duncansville, where simply waking up is the start of a good day.