I Am My Own Grandpa By Dr. Juan Harrison

I knew it would eventually show up.  I just didn’t realize how tough it could be.  Old Age.  Seems like I was moving tolerably well one day.  The next day all my get up and go had done gone.  I had noticed it was getting harder to get up and out of a chair and get going.  That weakness in the legs and struggling to get up out of the floor after playing with the grandkids was getting worse.

Don’t know about you women, but for a lot of us guys we begin to struggle with our masculinity as we seem to be fighting a mental battle as our strength and stamina seem to fade.  We may find ourselves fighting a bit of depression and bitterness as we think back on our past and all the vigor and stamina seems to have leaked out leaving us an almost empty tank.

Fortunately for women most of you have got close friends to help you commiserate over your aging process.  Us guys tend not to have a loyal sidekick or two to help us get through this aging thing. How did a simple thing like getting in and out of a chair get to be such an ordeal.  Sometimes I find it easier to stand for a while as I’m talking to the wife.  Then again the aging legs begin to complain and tell me to take a seat.  One of my customers likes to talk a bit, so I pull out my little folding camping stool so that I can grab it when he comes out to kill a spell talking to me.  Those old 45 radiation treatments this past Summer just about took the last of what life was left in those bony appendages. 

Like I’ve always told you guys to make lemonade out of lemons, I’ve tried to find a bright side to slide into the geriatric generation.  I’ve come to realize I have a whole new set of talking points when it comes to visiting with the old folks.  Much like the cartoon character Pogo who once said, “We have met the enemy and he is us,” I now find myself on the inside looking out.

For believers we’ve always got that promise of a new body on high.  Still, the daily battle we’re fighting with this old one is getting tougher.  We’re reminded daily of the danger of falling with our unstable legs, sometimes giving way without warning.  Then there’s the subsequent broken hip that statistics say results in our demise in often less than a year.  Seems like inactivity makes us more susceptible to other health issues like pneumonia and heart failure.  We know something’s going to get us sooner or later.  As our peers seem to be bailing out on us pretty regularly, maybe we should just smile and give a shout out, “still here.”  Just don’t shout too loud.  Need to conserve your breath.

By Dr. Juan Harrison