I have often said that life gets more interesting every day that I live it. I was considering my thinking in my youth. I never even thought of what my life might be like when I reached the age of retirement. I saw my grandfather when he retired and my own father when he retired and thought, "well that looks pretty easy." I am now of the opinion that life after a career is not so easy after all.
We have been known to state, "Well when life settles down a little we can do _______." Now I discover that life doesn't ever settle down. The differences, as I perceive them are:
1. We can't do things as fast as we did in the past. Therefore projects take longer. Merely thinking about a project takes longer than the doing of it used to take.
2. Our ability to grasp small objects is greatly reduced. I have trouble even holding on to a screw driver or a bar of soap much less small change. A dime will slip out of my hands very easily. 50 years ago I didn't think those things would ever be a problem.
3. We can't see as well as we used to see. In my youth I had 20-15 vision. I could see and read street signs two or three blocks away, and I could see and read freeway signs much further. My siblings always made fun of my "eagle eyes".
4. Our bodily functions are not the same. 'nuff said.
5. We spend more time thinking about relationships than we did in the past. As I age and see my friends and relatives slip into eternity, I am more sensitive to how eternally important is is to make and maintain close relationships.
6. We are concerned about our spiritual health. My relationship with my Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, has become of utmost importance. In my youth I was a little more cavalier in my attitude.
7. We concern ourselves more about our family and friends. I worry more about the spiritual relationship my children and grandchildren have with my Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. When I was young I never even considered that my grandparents would be concerned about me, much less great grandparents or others.
As I become more fragile and perhaps more frail in both body and mind, I have become more concerned for family members and friends. I find it more important to check on them. I find that I want to know they are okay. I know that they sometimes think my interest in them is overbearing, but I don't intend to be offensive.
I beg forgiveness if I have been offensive as I worry about you, my friends. I am simply concerned.
