Don’t Surrender by Dr. Juan Harrison

Don’t Surrender  

My son reached out his right hand to help me up from the playroom floor where Jack and I had just waged war against some imaginary bears and lions.  A few stuffed animals had just felt the wrath of two great hunters armed with rubber bullets and styrofoam balls.  I watched my son’s face for signs of concern about Dad’s loss of strength in his legs.  My son was gracious and tactful.  Naw, it was just one guy helping another up after completing a strenuous activity.

I don’t spend a lot of time worrying about advancing age.  I do sometimes hope my sons aren’t so observant or concerned as they see noticeable signs of physical decline.  Sometimes I’m flattered when one asks me to help with or complete a somewhat physically challenging project for them.  Glad I have a day or so to recover later.  Spreading dirt at his new country place I might have been found taking occasional breaks in the folding chair I regularly carry with me when I work at his place.

One of the challenges of growing older is accepting reality.  While refusing to totally give in to my increasing lack of stamina and lower energy level.  Vanity aside, I hate to think of my children watching old Dad declining before their eyes.  Sometimes it’s our loss of balance, our poorer vision, or a general loss of robustness and energy in our overall being and demeanor.  They remember me from all the million miles we mowed on customers’ yards as they grew from young boys to hardy young men.

Considering my lifelong mantra of turning lemons into lemonade, I think it’s not all a bad thing.  Maybe as he approaches 40, it might help him or any other younger friend who sees the physical or mental changes to consider their own lives.  Not sure how old most of us were when we first started considering old age and its ultimate result, but maybe it gets them to thinking about their lives and considering that even they too will meet similar challenges if they’re blessed to have longevity in their lives.

I think for me it’s also a challenge to help present the aging process in a more positive light as I joke about my shortcomings and occasional senior moments with momentary losses of names of people we know or even relatives.  I constantly make myself laugh at my mess-ups and try to watch my tongue as I get things tangled up, be they hangers in the closet or my own two feet.

Short of the Rapture, “They’re coming to take me away—hey hey, ho ho” or so the old song says.  I probably should be gracious and let them gently lead me away, but knowing me, I think I’ll probably try to get in a couple of good kicks and maybe a bite or two.  I just wanted one more kiss and hug from the grands.

By Dr. Juan Harrison