Aging


This article on aging was written almost 20 years ago.  I thought it would be fun to repost it. Enjoy.

Aging, a matter of mind
By Connie Hawkins

I'm having another birthday. At 50 something, they seem to come faster than they used too! I read somewhere that age is a matter of mind. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter! Truthfully, the only time age didn't matter to me was when I was a kid. I could hardly wait for a birthday, then. I was even excited about it.

When you're young, you think about aging in terms of fractions. When you're four and someone asks you how old are you? You never say I'm four going on five. You're more likely to say, "I'm four and a half." No one ever says their 36 and a half or 36 going on 37!

When I was a teenager, I always jumped to the next number when someone would ask my age. I just turned 15, but I was going to be 16. Even when I was 13, I was going to be 16. Well, I was eventually.

Ever notice when you're a kid, age 10-you can't wait to be a teenager so you can stay up past 9:00, and when you're 13, you want to be 16 so you can drive. Then comes that great day when you become 21.  You don't turn 21; you "become" 21!

Then, you turn 30. What's that about? Makes you sound like bad milk-you "turned" 30. Then you're pushing 40. I hated the thought of it. Even the sound of "40" seemed old. I vowed not to move past 30 and suddenly, I was 40 so then I vowed that I would stay there, but before I knew it I had reached 50. That was a dreadful time for me.

Now I wonder will I make it to 60. They say by age 60, you've built up so much speed in aging that you hit 70. After that, it's a day by day thing. Most people in there 70s are glad just to hit Wednesday!

When my dad was 84, he told me when you get to be 80; you're happy to hit lunch! "Heck," he says, "you're glad when you hit 4:30!"   Mom said in your 70s your on borrowed time. When she was 74, she wouldn’t  even buy green bananas. Who knows if she'll be around long enough to see 'em turn yellow! People in their 80s don't make any long-term plans. They just live day by day.

It doesn't matter what stage you are in life aging is a concern. Ever notice when you reach 90-time starts to go backward. You begin to tell people, "I was "just" 92 last week. Like, 92 isn't all that old. If you're lucky enough to make it to 100, a strange thing happens, you become a kid again, "I'm 100 and a half," you hear yourself saying.

I'm not sure I want to live to be 100. I mean, what would I do with myself?  I'll probably still be writing! I guess, when it comes right down to it, God has aging under control. It says so in Ecclesiastics, chapter three. "There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven." Even my birthday! Age doesn't really matter. After all, it's just a number and if it does matter, it's only because you let it.
(Crossroads April 1999)  This article also appeared in His Banner and is featured in The Rowboat Revisited by Connie Hawkins.

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