Sunday Scribblings Post-Prompt "Aging"
Aging
He might have been a little worried, wondering how we’d age together, but I don’t think he has anything to worry about. There are so many people out there who believe that getting old means losing all sense of fun and leaving behind both their sense of humor and all of the simple pleasures that bring them such joy in their lives. I’m not one of those people.
I used to think that as I got older, that things needed to fall by the wayside. The first casualty of that idea was comic books. I mostly read “Archie” comics and Disney comics when I was younger, I’d liked “Ray Bradbury Comics”, when they’d materialized, but the series was short-lived and I didn’t find much of anything else that held my attention. Then, in college, I discovered both Jeff Smith’s “Bone” and Drew Hayes’ “Poison Elves” and I realized that I didn’t have to give up comics at all, I just needed to explore a little bit further. It was an epiphany and a giddy joy ride.
From then on, I didn’t look back. There are some things that a person outgrows, certainly, but there are other things, like “Looney Tunes” and “Rocky and Bullwinkle” that have so much more to offer than the surface entertainment a child sees.
He has been pleasantly surprised and amused by my DVD collection because there is a pretty good selection of titles that appeal to a broad spectrum of ages, and he’s also found that it doesn’t matter how old you are, blowing bubbles, flying kites, playing catch, and water fights are still a blast. He’s thrilled that I have never outgrown my love of riding motorcycles or the joys of just going someplace with “because” as a reason. Certainly, there is excitement and fun in a nice picnic that includes good cheese and fabulous bread and beautiful scenery, but that doesn’t mean that one has to discard all of the happiness of having a weenie roast and making s’mores.
Getting older doesn’t mean that you have to stop enjoying your life, I’ve pointed out to him that my parents still go out and play in the snow and terrorize the neighborhood on dirt bikes rather gleefully, which a lot of people would probably argue are pastimes best left to the younger set. I disagree. Without the injection of juice those moments provide, a person’s life will simply dry up and shrivel. I’d rather be the crazy family member that everyone’s always telling to settle down and stop adventuring than the bitter old woman sitting at home reedily wheezing a lament about all of the things that I could have done. I’m pretty sure that my attitude towards aging is part of what makes him love me so much.