Today is the fiftieth anniversary of me.
Fifty seems like such a very large number. I am not that many, am I? I don't feel like it. Yeah, I know, that's what everybody says. Nobody feels fifty. But what I mean is, I also don't "think" fifty, either. I think I still act like that college-aged guy I was just a few years ago. Shouldn't a fifty-year-old be mature? Responsible? Wise? Stable? Unkidlike?
Fifty seems like such a very large number. I am not that many, am I? I don't feel like it. Yeah, I know, that's what everybody says. Nobody feels fifty. But what I mean is, I also don't "think" fifty, either. I think I still act like that college-aged guy I was just a few years ago. Shouldn't a fifty-year-old be mature? Responsible? Wise? Stable? Unkidlike?
I still feel like a kid in so many ways, like I haven't really grown up yet. And I have no idea if this is good or not. What does a fifty-year-old feel like, anyway? Does anyone know? And if they do, why don't they tell us? Shouldn't this information be sent to you with the AARP card? "If you feel like this, you are 50. If you feel like that, you are not 50," or something.
Maybe feelings are not the primary thing here, and many times, they are not.
I guess what I would hope for is to be doing what I am supposed to be doing - be what I am supposed to be - and let the feeling part fall out however it wants. I know one thing about this time of my life is that it is harder to do stuff like exercise. It's not as easy to read for long periods of time, I don't concentrate like I used to, I lose interest in things quicker. I don't like that at all.
I guess what I would hope for is to be doing what I am supposed to be doing - be what I am supposed to be - and let the feeling part fall out however it wants. I know one thing about this time of my life is that it is harder to do stuff like exercise. It's not as easy to read for long periods of time, I don't concentrate like I used to, I lose interest in things quicker. I don't like that at all.
But there is no reason not to keep on pushing, to exercise, to read and study, to think. I'm still kickin'. I don't want to coast. In some ways I feel like I am just now figuring out how a "grown-up" is supposed to handle things.
I have much to be thankful to God for, more than I can list (and I'd lose interest after awhile anyway, remember?), but I will name two. I am most grateful for God's salvation extended to me in His Son, Jesus. I am undeserving, yet He commanded me to live in Christ and gave me resurrection power to obey. I am amazed to think of it - it's an old story that never gets old.
I have much to be thankful to God for, more than I can list (and I'd lose interest after awhile anyway, remember?), but I will name two. I am most grateful for God's salvation extended to me in His Son, Jesus. I am undeserving, yet He commanded me to live in Christ and gave me resurrection power to obey. I am amazed to think of it - it's an old story that never gets old.
For my wife and children I am most grateful. God's provision for my maturity and joy. A very brief description of an eternal blessing.
I am very aware that my life is in God's hands and I don't know what the future will bring. For now, I am glad to be here.
And, friendly reader, I am glad you are here, too.
Without further ado, here's some other stuff that's 50 -
Sweet N Low
Jolly Green Giant
Rice A Roni
Cocoa Krispies
The Skateboard
The Air Force Academy
Chevy Impala
Legos
Dodgers and Giants on the Left Coast
NASA
1 comment:
Mike wrote:
“Nobody feels fifty. But what I mean is, I also don't "think" fifty, either. I think I still act like that college-aged guy I was just a few years ago. Shouldn't a fifty-year-old be mature? Responsible? Wise? Stable? Unkidlike?"
"I still feel like a kid in so many ways, like I haven't really grown up yet. And I have no idea if this is good or not. What does a fifty-year-old feel like, anyway?”
I had some good memories of my college years, but in my case, I sometimes think of myself as I was back in the 1980’s - my after-college years…being a newlywed, then entering my 30’s and a few years later being a new dad. And on a good day, I think that I’m reasonably mature, responsible, wise, and stable.
When you say unkidlike, I’m not exactly sure how you mean that. A friend of mine once put it this way, “There’s a difference between being childish and childlike”. You’re supposed to grow out of the former, but there’s nothing wrong with the latter. Children have a sense of wonder and dream big dreams, something we adults often forget. They’re always learning, whether they’re in a classroom or not. In a lot of ways they’re more creative than we are. One example, I can’t tell you how many adults I’ve heard say, “I can’t draw”. Well, why not? I’ll bet that same man or woman used to draw all the time as a boy or girl, until he or she was told “that picture’s no good…you can’t draw”.
Maybe it just shows I’m a “boomer”. I’ve grown up in the so-called youth culture where we didn’t feel the need to give up all of our youthful interests as we matured…as long as we became mature and didn’t neglect our responsibilities. I see it as a both-and situation, not a either-or situation. You can be responsible and youthful at the same time.
“I know one thing about this time of my life is that it is harder to do stuff like exercise.”
One of our pastors once said he thought we usually feel younger than our age because our spirit doesn’t age even though our body slows down as time passes. That could explain why guys get themselves in trouble when they try to pull some stunt that their bodies *used to* be able to handle. He may have something there.
So Mike, here’s what I think you need to do. Get up in the morning, put Sweet N Low in your coffee, and have a bowl of Cocoa Krispies. After breakfast, you might notice that your skateboard is in the hallway. Put it back in the closet next to the box of Legos. Shower and shave, and do whatever errands you have for the morning. At lunch, have some Rice-a-Roni and open a can of Green Giant vegetables (your choice). After lunch, put the dishes away, and grab your wallet and keys. Lock the door, walk to your classic 1958 Chevy Impala, get in and start ‘er up. Be sure to route your trip through Colorado Springs and look at the Air Force Academy as you drive by…on your way to the Left Coast to watch either a Dodgers or Giants game (again your choice). Once you get to California and check into your motel, plug your laptop computer into the phone jack, go online, and check what’s new on the NASA web site.
Did I leave anything out?
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