Friday, September 06, 2013

Counting the grey hairs


Nobody grows old merely by living a number of years.  We grow old by deserting our ideals.  Years may wrinkle the skin but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul. ~ Samuel Ullman

On Tuesday there were two monumental happenings in my life.  I woke up and suddenly I was getting old… I packed up #2 son for his last first day of school and #1 daughter turned 30!

So far as #2 son, I thought I would be jubilant; in a few short months there will be no more lunches to pack, no more books to cover, no more parent teacher conferences, no more homework help.  But as most “adults” when I get what I think I want I am not happy with it.  It is the end, all my babies will have graduated.  There is happiness and pride in their successful graduation but there is sadness too because now their problems will get bigger than I am able to help them with.  I can read their books to help them with a report, I can organize their research, I can pack a lunch that their friends try to steal, I can correct their “me and Jim” to “Jim and I” but after this they are all on their own.

And how, when I only graduated “a couple of years ago” did I end up with a 30 year old kid?  1982 was only a couple of years ago, right? I know her father looks old and I know she went to Iraq, married and has two kids of her own but…30?!  Already?!  How the hell did that happen?!

And to top it off the garden got a little out of hand while I was playing with the grandbabies.  Trying to tame the savage beast and put it all in jars had me feeling cranky, exhausted and achy.  Both physically and emotionally OLD!

But as this week draws to a close I see jar after jar of garden produce .  I know while #2 daughter and #1 son are at their jobs, #1 daughter will call me at 8:08 when her husband leaves for work and we will discuss how awesome my grandchildren are and then #2 son will come home from school and after grabbing a quick bite he will leave for work. 

I may be getting old but I am not done yet.  My children are all close and happy well worth the tears and grey hairs. I guess my aches and pains are battle scars and I guess there are some good points in getting older and children moving on.

I am not saying I won’t waiver or shed a tear wishing both them and I were younger again but I guess I have to look at it like this…

I will never be an old (wo)man.  To me, old age is always 15 years older than I am. ~ Francis Bacon
 
Yikes in 15 years #1 grandson will be close to his graduation!  I am going back to bed!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Gray hairs are from the younger three

Unknown said...

Oh dear, don't I wish my daughter was but 30 yrs. She is my baby, and this year turned 45. LOL

I love your little quote too. Very good.

Thanks for the chuckle, and I am sure you have MANY GOOD YEARS left in you, for more gardening, grandchildren, or anything else you might want from life.

Just a note, for some reason you blog updates are not showing on my reader list. Not sure why. I'm just glad I remember to check myself now and then. Otherwise I would miss you very much. :)

Linda said...

Oh, Judy, this was too funny! And so true. You should never think of children and grandchildren in years compared to yours! That will certainly age a person. Gray hairs....I tell my now adult kids...my hair should be platinum blonde by now...every gray hair is a badge of honor! And the grandkids, well, they just keep you young! Age is just mind over matter - if you don't mind - it doesn't matter!! Have a great week!