Stories from the Road: Getting Old
My wife has an aunt and uncle who celebrate their birthdays together every year. They were born a year apart on almost the same calendar day. This year her family all got together with them at a nice local restaurant and we celebrated.
This couple has a youthful appearance considering their age. She turned 78 this year and he turned 79, but if I didn't know them and know their ages, I'd put them closer to 65. The male half of the couple, Uncle Bob, still plays 18 holes of golf three days a week when the weather is nice. They are in really good shape. The illusion is so real that I almost cracked an old folks joke before realizing that I was sitting across from a couple of people closing in on 80. Talk about sticking your foot in your mouth.
I was speaking to Bob and he was asking me about my work. I'm a trucker and I have to deal with all kinds of unpleasant weather in my duties this time of year. My trucking route runs from Indiana to Pennsylvania. We had just had a particularly unpleasant week with snow and very cold temperatures. Bob was telling me about how glad he was that he didn't have to get out in that kind of weather anymore. He was really relishing the fact that he was retired, and seemed to be pitying me in my current predicament. I'm still at least 20 years away from retirement.
Bob always has a little smile on his face. He has the demeanor of a man who feels very good about himself and his life. He and his wife were talking about their age for a little bit. When he talked about being 79, he sorted of acted like he couldn't believe it. Then he looked at his wife as the smile dropped from his face and said, "Just think. Next year the big eight oh," then sort of looked as if he had slipped from the present moment into contemplation and reflection. In that moment he looked closer to that big eight oh to me.
It seems like most people in our society spend their lives acting like they are going to be here forever. The idea that this life has an end doesn't seem to occur to many people until they start feeling death approach. I've had that mentality toward life for most of my life. It hasn't been until the past few years that I really started to contemplate mortality. And I think at 46 most people would consider that morbid and unnecessary. But I realize now that I've got a lot of work to do before the end comes. I used to think that life was absurd and meaningless. Now I find it full of purpose and meaning.
Open your eyes to the present moment. See where you are right now in your life and you will know what you have to do. Don't let this opportunity slip away.
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we tend to be more reflective of that reality. We all need to remind ourselves that this is a fairly short journey amongst others and on this planet. Treat each other with respect, help others as we can in whatever ways we can, tell those that we love we love them and enjoy ourselves as much as we can do.
I retired a couple of years ago after being forced out early from my job as a Grocery Receiver at a Supermarket (I have a great deal of respect for those out in the ugly weather each day as the OP is
). Really enjoy retirement and when asked last Saturday by a Supervisor that I had run into while shopping if I wanted to come back, I could have any store in his division as Receiver, I politely declined. Everyone has a different economic reality and we all have to look at what we can and cannot do, but I encourage all to Retire as soon as they can and enjoy their life. 
