Gifts of aging

 The gift of old age sometimes comes with sorrow and, at other times, with great joy. Like looking at your newborn for the first time, wrapped in the arms of the woman you love, and knowing from that moment on, your lives have been forever changed. Milestones play over in your head like first words and first steps, the first lost tooth, and the belief in the tooth fairy. Sitting on Santa's knee, your voice trembling, but you manage to read him your list. And being terrified of the easter bunny at the egg hunt, so Uncle Bob took off the head to show you everything was alright.

Sometimes life is full of sorrows, like when we lose loved ones we were so close to, and friends, some lost to war, and others victims of the streets, lost to us, replaced with a needle. We find ourselves wondering whether, had we been a better friend, the outcome would have been any different. The gift of old age is that people don't get offended when we speak our minds about a variety of life choices they just believe were slowly losing our minds and smile at us as if we were bound for the loony bin.

Growing up in a time or times when simple was just that, and households lived with a few rules to keep the train on the tracks. Talking back to an elder was a guaranteed whipping, not soon forgotten, as was the taste of soap that filled your mouth because you thought swearing or taking God's name in vain was okay because you heard dad do it every time he hit a fingernail with a hammer or stubbed his toe on the end table as he was searching for a midnight snack.

Growing old but remembering your youth is an equal mix of emotions, memories, and tears, sometimes joyful and other times so sorrowful that tears can't fall fast enough. But the best part of getting old is that roles are reversed, and that beautiful little baby you held in your arms now dotes on you, doing your laundry and making Tupperware dishes with food I can freeze enough for a week. She always has a cup of tea, staring into your cloudy eyes and holding your age spot hands, choking back a tear.

You assure her you're going to a place where her mother waits, along with dozens of family and friends, for his arrival. He tells her he's not afraid, and that her tears should be those of joy and happiness for him, as he's set free from the memories and will live his next life with a clear mind and a heart that can never be broken again.

Mike 2026