Thoughts on Aging

It's funny how age sorta sneaks up on you little by little. It's another example incrementalism. Things will change a teeny bit here, a teeny bit there... At some point down the road the realization (at least I'm assuming...) hits you: "Holy shit, I'm old!"

Yeah, I know... I'm only 51 and that's not old. Having said that, I have noticed a lot of little things in the last year or so. I'm the kind of person that notices things, remember? Here are some of the things I've noticed:

• Wrinkles - Okay, everybody's skin gets wrinkled when they get older. Some show it and some don't. I'm a slim guy, so I don't have my skin pulled taut like some overweight people, so it's going to be more noticeable on me. I really notice the wrinkles most around my eyes after I get out of a particularly hot shower, which is obviously hell on skin quality to begin with. If it really bothered me I'd be using some sort of Oil of Olay or some shit. The way I look at it? Screw it... It adds character.
• Skin imperfections - This one is odd because it covers so many things that seem to pop up from time to time. I haven't gotten age spots on the backs of my hands yet, but I have gotten other little odd "flaws" that have cropped up that never used to be there. A couple teeny (less than 1/8") warts are a good example. An occasional little purple spot where it looks like a capillary did a supernova. An odd "dry spot" here or there. All I really ask for is for my nose and ears keep their shape until I'm near the end.
• Vision - My eyesight as always been shitty, but hasn't changed much, if at all. Who woulda thought that, based on everything else doing a slow slide, my eyesight would be one of my best assets?
• Aches and pains - I get a lot of mysterious pains that I never used to get. By mysterious I mean I did nothing to cause them. It's not like I pulled a muscle doing something. I'm talking about something that just starts hurting and stays that way for no apparent reason. One thing I have to do every day when I wake up is to stand in one place for a minute before I take a step. If I don't, the upper part of my feet will hurt me for a couple hours like I strained em somehow. I guess it's a blood flow thing. If I stand there for a minute before walking off, everything is fine.
• Hearing - I can't hear well at all. I really should get a hearing aid(s). That is a major thing though. They are very expensive (unless you just want the kind that amplifies everything--Noise and all) and I don't know if I want that expense. This is where the newest thing to mention fits in. I was watching a movie the other night and kept turning it up... Kept turning it up... Then it occurred to me to turn on subtitles. Viola! (pronounced wha-la) Why hadn't I don't this before now? It was truly a senior moment.

You know what I like most about getting old? All of my fellow "new oldster's" ribbing each other and calling each other "grandma" or "grandpa".

I think it's cool.