Good Morning: Growing up has shown that all human beings are "stamped with an expiration date"
It is not OK that I should feel like an old man at the age of 21. It is not OK when I used to do three sports in high school (sometimes more than one at a time), that I am out of breath upon ascending the stairs between the first and fourth floors of Old Main. Yet, here I am, 21-years-old and wheezing over typing these last few lines.
Despite that last exaggeration, signs continually appear and shout out to me that I am not a kid anymore. I have a finger and toe on my right side that ache continually from frequent fractures when the weather is cold and wet. I am quite often sore after just a few hours of the least amount of exercise. And long gone are the days where I could stay up until hours approaching dawn without a serious dent in my stamina the next day. The signs continue to grow with an increasing sense of the ominous.
I was at home this weekend and worked on my farm with my dad.
I became frightened when my father threw down a screwdriver in outrage because he began having trouble gripping the tool. My father is still the idol that I look to when I think of my definition of virility and strength, but it is impossible to deny that we as human beings are stamped with an expiration date.
One of the things I’ve always enjoyed is the sense of immortality that comes with the onset of adolescence. It is beginning to fade. I’ve never had to exercise to stay in shape. I never needed much maintenance to achieve any physical goal that I set. That chapter is drawing to a close and I think that there may not be a “to be continued.”
I could easily just continue into this stage of physical mediocrity, knowing that there are limitations that will continue to multiply like two rabbits left in the back of a pet store without supervision. Or, I could break my usual pattern of lackadaisical aging and try and turn back the clock a bit.
I choose the latter. I choose to admit that I am no longer able to live the life of a 15-year-old that doesn’t have to move to stay in shape. I will bring back my former vigor with exercise and a watchful eye on my personal health. More than that, I urge you to do the same. Because if I am feeling like an old man, then I’m sure there are those older than me who are feeling it more.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to the gym to begin my revitalization. I’m off to get my youth back. Just as soon as I take a nap.
