Getting older

I am turning fifty next week, although I have claimed to be fifty for the past year which irritates my wife.  I entered my fiftieth year last June, so technically 51 begins next week.  I remember past mile posts: 16, I could drive; 18, I could drink (in Vermont and Wyoming); 21, I was officially an adult; 30, wow!  I really was an adult; 40, I was old-young and now 50: I am young-old.  Twenty five years ago I was 25 and twenty five years from now I will be 75.  The permutations are endless and boring.

Many of my friends are in their fifties which is encouraging because most of them are healthy, seem content and look great.  but I have been admonished: "Oh, you just wait!  Everything starts to go in your fifties."  I find this hard to believe because despite my outward appearance much of me "went" in  my forties, so I would like to think that either I have earned karmic dispensation or I don't have much more remaining to "go."

Of course this is foolishness because there is plenty more that can go wrong as we age and that can be our emphasis or we can focus on the benefits that experience affords us.  What becomes more apparent with each passing year is the cliche that life is short, so the daily question is what do you want to do with the time remaining?  How you pass your days directly effects the quality of the hours you have been allotted.  For those who lament the boredom of continuing an exercise routine or the dread of starting one, let's look at the alternatives.   Studies indicate that exercise improves physical fitness and cognitive function as we age and if we don't continue to engage in vigorous activity we are more likely to die sooner.  What is least appealing to me is dying a slow death in a hospital with tubes in my body.  I don't want to live to a hundred years after residing in a facility for twenty years taking 15 medications daily and not being able to feed myself. 

At this point I know my weaknesses and I have a good idea how to improve my odds of avoiding a heart attack and cancer.  Of course there are no guarantees but staying informed by reading current research, eating well, exercising and being aware of my actions will help me lead a richer life even if I get run over by a truck tomorrow (again.)