Serve by Design

I stood in the driveway of Dad’s auto repair shop the day he confronted a gentleman representing the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP). Dad informed the man he was not interested in any such membership even though the fellow said it would only cost around $5.00 for three years. Dad ended the conversation that day by saying, “I’ll give you the five dollars if you’ll get off my driveway. I’ve got work to do!” Floating in the Dead Sea! Image credit: pixabay.com That terse response may have been what further emboldened Dad’s lifetime attitude about aging, “I ain’t old!” And he meant it! He was still showing up at the shop on this ninety-fourth birthday when I pulled up to get him to head out to our favorite restaurant for a barbecue baby back rib dinner! Over the years, we had used his birthday and mine as an annual occasion for such a celebration! I just celebrated my seventy-fifth birthday over a recent weekend that included some of my other favorites that I don’t get too ...

Have you ever said, “I don’t feel that old?” and then looked into the nearest mirror and thought differently! Allow me to briefly do my life by the numbers: 73 years of age, 52 years of marriage, and now, 55 years since my high school graduation. By any modest evaluation, I am older than I feel! Last Saturday evening’s class reunion was just another reminder that I am not alone! As I entered the Country Club’s great room, I looked up and could have declared, “Who are all of these old people?” But I quickly checked myself and acknowledged instead, “These are my classmates and peers! Let the stories begin!”😆 Just a few of us! Regrettably, due to living out-of-state and some conflicts with our schedules, I have only been able to attend a half dozen or so of all the reunions. It’s a shame that some of our number bid farewell to Vandalia Community High School after graduation and have never returned for a single class reunion! Our planning team knows how difficult it has been to keep up ...

Everywhere I go these days, I am reminded of my age! It started years ago after turning fifty at a time when I was beginning to leverage that membership card from the organization that advocates for senior adults! I was being offered the "senior discount" at the local donut shop and other eateries without asking for it. It had me wondering, "How did they know I had just got my senior membership card?!" I soon realized that I was "showing my age" as we say, but it wasn't because I was carrying a plastic senior card in my wallet. Rather, it was because, "I was showing my age!" Literally! In my fifties, my hair was turning gray like my mother's! And, my shoulders were rounding so that I was slumping even more with each passing year. Why is it that we always seem to blame our parents or genetics for these developmental changes? Photo credit: Charles Deluvio unsplash.com/s/photos/aging Anyway, I shouldn't have been surprised the ot...

I think it is another sign of advancing age that we begin to reach beyond the"best by date" on a gallon of milk! I used to be horrified when my mother would drag out the breakfast milk and the date on it had expired the week before. I would say, "Mom! Do you realize that the date on this milk expired a week ago?" And without a direct answer she would state the obvious, "Your dad and I just don't drink milk like we used to!" I may have mumbled, "You think?!" Now that I am retired and on Medicare, I have picked up the same habit of trying to stretch beyond the "best by dates" as far as I reasonably can! I have read around this subject using my computer "search engine" over the years, especially when we take obligatory pantry or refrigerator inventory on occasions. I am more apt to use a canned good that has expired its "best by date" than I am a salad dressing that has been languishing in the fridge for so long...