Becoming Ourselves

I read somewhere that, as we age, we become truer to our real natures. Boy, I hope that's not accurate.

To my observation, aging is awful. Folks become angrier and crabbier. They're less patient. They've more judgmental. They're less fun.

I speak to my ancient Mom every few days. Although she asks after my family, it's clear that she lives mostly in her own head. Before I even finish an answer about what the Ds are up to, she is talking about some doctor appointment, or the fact that a neighbor's construction project is "driving her insane."

A close friend tells me that, as he ages, he has pledged to become "more patient, more understanding, more, well...Buddhist-like." Of course, the opposite is true. Just the other day his secretary made a mistake, and he went off on her as if she had embezzled all of his company's money.

My friend Steve, the professor I'm going to teach with tthis Summer, is a specialist in aging. He has studied it all of his professional career, and lectures throughout the country on the topic. He tells me that caring for the elderly is so tough because of their meanness, ofter, and their unattractiveness, as well as the knowledge that they're not going to get "better." Plus, we all see our futures in the elderly, and it's not pretty!

Friends' parents have been dropping like flies recently. I was at a funeral just last week, and then yesterday my old friend Vince told me his mother in law was dying. He really likes her, contrary to typical mother in law jokes, and his wife and he are suffering this coming loss.

I guess it's all the more reason to celebrate Wifey and my relative youth. Our girls are grown, and we don't feel too old yet. Based on what we see, we may want to stay at these ages for a long time.