As Young As You Feel

The other night my wife and I were talking.  We don't usually engage in this pasttime of discussion, but since she wouldn't participate in other more aerobic activities, I settled for words.  We were talking about the many changes we have embraced, or will embrace, in just one year:  my wife completing another degree, my wife settling into yet another leadership job, my daughter becoming a student teacher, my daughter's college graduation, my son's high school graduation, my daughter's impending wedding.

I pointed out that I was the only stable person in the family.  She didn't disagree.

We also wondered how the other was feeling through these changes. At one juncture I used the cliche: "We're as young as we feel."

But how young is that?

Strange, but in terms of my intellect and outlook on life, I feel young.  Very young.  Like a virgin, touched for the very first time.

As far as the physical, I like to quote Yogi Berra and say that "I'm in very good shape for the shape I'm in."  I'm no longer prime cut, but at fifty-one I'm still able to navigate the heavy paces of a gym workout on most days, and I'm still capable of hiking miles at a time or running my heart rate up to 160+ on the stairmaster.  The last time I took a "real age" stress test I came in well under the fifty-year mark and in some categories showed signs of still being in my thirties.  But heck, what do scientists know?

I'm just thankful that I can still do what I do even though I have shoulder pain, back pain, and at times, a pain in the butt.  I've had no major health concerns, never broken a bone, and expect to be able to make love well into my nineties.  With whom, I can't say.

There are reasons for the older male to feel good about life.  And one of these is the belief that nothing bad ever lasts, and there are still new ventures to embrace.  It's a great thing when menopause and manopause can work together on some of these dreams.