Mortalilty

Now that I’m in my 60s, sometimes I feel mortal. I know that sounds dumb, since we are all mortal; we will all die. It’s too early to be losing friends, though, and cancer takes some (too many), accidents some others and then there is the simple fact that we are all aging.

I am healthy, so I don’t feel afraid that my life is coming to an early end of some kind, but I had lunch with an old friend recently and he said that we are healthy, until we are not. I play tennis, pickel ball and walk the dogs twice a day. I can’t remember a day when I didn’t get 10,000 steps in, at least according to my fitbit (i choose to believe it).

On the other hand, I don’t play soccer any longer and I rarely go for a run, due to a ‘severely arthritic’ ankle and two ACL replacements in my knees. The knees feel as good as new (thanks doc) but the ankle hurts every day. Some days I am dizzy when I get up…something to do with crystals in my ears, wtf. These are all relatively minor things – incredibly minor actually. My dad and his sister had alzheimers and died badly. I hope I don’t get it, but have no idea, and cant’ worry about it.

My wife and I are growing old together. That’s what the plan was and still is. In our mid-60s we are both still active, we travel, we go see our kids all over the world, and we are happy. How will it feel when we are mid-70s? How will it feel when we are mid-80s? I don’t know. I am having dinner with 3 good friends tonight. One is my age and two are older – if they aren’t 80 then they are close. Maybe I will ask them how different it feels in the 70s+. Then I will finish this piece…

Well, one of my friends from dinner last night is 80 and in excellent health but the other is 82 and has Parkinson’s disease, he said. I think we just carry on, and hope for the best, keeping fit and eating as well as possible (allowing for regular treats, of course).