Who wants to hear some old guy whining? Face it. It’s a young man’s world, eh?
But the thing about being a young man is that it’s considered good fortune to become an old man. I mean, they may not be thinking it when they’re 23 – I know that I was completely clueless – but they’ll appreciate the sentiment when those aches and pains start creeping in. There may come a time when they’re thinking, “Hey, I’m teeing off on the back nine right now, I’ve got to get a bit more serious about taking care of myself.”
But the thing is, they probably don’t even think that. It’s more like, “Hokey smokes, I’m waggling on the 18th tee right now and there’s not a whole lot of time left to get things squared away.” And let me tell you, the 18th tee isn’t the place to be doing that. Not if you want any kind of quality of life as age as a reality approaches.
Last night I learned a bit about that. And I’m not necessarily talking about eating right or exercising.
But first, let me tell you an underappreciated fact: the thing about spending 27 years in the care of the United States Air Force is that you can become accustomed to them managing your life. You get regular health assessments. You have certain standards for physical fitness and weight. They tell you when you need to get your shots.
And they set you up once a year for a visit to the dentist.
So when all of that free life management goes away, if you’re not the kind of person to pay attention to those things naturally, you might be surprised as life creeps up on you. Maybe this is why some people who retire from the military don’t fare so well in this area. After all that time having someone remind you to take care of business, you’re suddenly on your own.
And one night at dinner, years down the road, as you bite into a piece of meat and you think that snap you heard was a piece of bone, you realize after a moment that it’s in fact a piece of your tooth giving up.
I’ve written a couple of times here about getting old. As long as you’re alive, it’s inevitable. You can’t stop time. But here’s some advice: you can mitigate some of its effects, and if you do you’ll find that the quality of that age you’re gaining becomes bearable as it overtakes you.
Pay attention. Take care of yourselves. And we’ll see you much later…
