The Clock is Ticking

I’m amazed how quickly time pasts. When I was a child, summers felt like they stretched out forever.  Each Christmas was ever so far away.  During that time, I wished my days away, wanting the next big holiday, or special day to arrive.

It doesn’t seem all that long ago, when I was seven; those thirteen year olds seemed to be so much older; after all they were teenagers.  At thirteen the sixteen year olds were just so cool. Some of them actually drove cars, and had jobs; even if the job was only at the local fast food joint.  Then at sixteen, it was the members of the senior class in high school who were mature. By the time I reached my senior year, the college crowd had “arrived” at being adults. They talked about profs, “poly-sci”, dorm life, and seemed so knowledgeable about everything; some smoked pipes (and probably other stuff too).

By my twenties, I achieved some goals, including; spending four years in the Air Force, and completed my bachelor’s degree.  Now I was really an adult, with bills to pay, and a regular job. I joked about “going over-the-hill” -turning thirty; we were the generation who said not to trust anyone over thirty.  Fifty seemed a long way off, and those in their 50s were actually old folks, after all, my parents were in their fifties.

By some time in my thirties, it dawned on me that I would never be “cool”, “rad”, “hip” again (if I ever was).  I could no longer translate “teenager-speak”.  I was married, with a child; there were others counting on me to provide for.  It was impossible to keep up with the latest trends, and besides, I’d look silly in them anyway.  Maintaining my weight became harder, and I found myself going to bed earlier than before on New Year’s Eve. Turning 40 was the new “hill”, and that one actually bothered me.

The 40’s were a bit of a blur.  There were the demands of our son’s education, homework and sporting endeavors to encourage. Grey hair started to appear, along with a hairline that began to disappear.  Earlier career goals took a major detour.  Mom died, along with a host of other relatives, and so did our seven week old foster son.

 Reaching my fifties; things like retirement seriously started entering my thoughts. I tried to convince myself that 50 was just the start of being middle-aged.  The battle-of-bulge went from a skirmish to all-out-war.  Some of my friends had grandchildren entering the picture.  Dad passed away, as did the remaining aunts and uncles. Certain of the dreams I dreamt as a young adult became just wishful thinking.  Turning 60 was just not over-the-hill (again), it became darn right scary.

At 60, my health started to become unhinged.  Almost everything in my body hurts. Things I never thought would happen to me are now a part of my regular visits to the doctor.  I hear things like; “You need to expect that to happen at your age”, “Do you have a Buckeye card (senior citizen’s discount card)?”, “When do you plan to retire?”  I meet friends I haven’t seen for a long time, and can’t believe how much they’ve aged.

I can’t speak to the 70’s or 80’s yet.  Whatever comes with those years, I really can’t do much about, other than try to maintain a good attitude, and stay as physically/mentally active as possible.

So why all the “doom and gloom” in the last couple of posts?  Loss and aging are part of the package we all face. In what Christians call the Old Testament, Psalm 90:12 says, “Teach us to number our days that we might present to You a heart of wisdom” (NASB).

Understand, the clock is ticking; we each have only a certain amount of time, it will go faster than we can possibly believe.  How is it being spent?  What really matters?  Such knowledge should change us.