Learning to deal with getting older

Good morning, everybody, and welcome back to another episode of Cecil’s World in Print.
Today, we are going to talk about something that scares many people. We’re going to touch on getting older. Watch out, it’s coming, and there is nothing you can do about it.
When was the last time you looked in the mirror? Just kidding, I know you look in the mirror every morning when you’re getting ready to face the day. I have been looking at myself for 60 years and, believe me, I can see some changes.
It’s called getting older and learning to deal with it. I think men can deal with it more than women. There is nothing we can do about it. Of course, we can slow down the process with wonder creams to keep the wrinkles from showing so much or even plastic surgery. Sooner or later, we have to face the fact we are getting older, and we will die. Time changes, and our appearances change with that time. This is called the cycle of life. We all get a few more wrinkles, a little heavier, and we get out of shape.
I notice all my friends have changed with age — some getting better with age and, of course, some not aging very well. Some people will go all out to maintain that younger look.
I have a couple of friends who retired from the phone company. Let’s call them Larry and Wayne (not their real names). One of them, Larry, ages gracefully without any attempts to make himself look younger than he is (I am not so sure it would help).
My other friend is a year older than me, and his hair is black. I can’t understand that. My hair has a lot of gray in it. Does he still dye his hair? Only his hairdresser knows for sure.
The last time I saw him, he did have a little reddish tint to it in the bright sunshine. Another one of my friends from Darlington, no matter how old he gets, still has that round, babyfaced look he had in high school. I know he isn’t taking any beauty treatments. Maybe when he rides his motorcycle the bugs hitting him in the face have helped him retain that baby face.
Don’t get me wrong. If you want to cover up and try and maintain that younger look, more power to you. Some people want to turn back the hands of time to when they were in their prime. But the older I get, the more I enjoy life, and that is what it is all about. The way you look might have some bearing on that, but as long as I am healthy, I can deal with the way I look as I get older.
I have finally reached the point where I have accepted the fact that I am getting older, and there is nothing I can do about it. When I was younger, I watched my dad and grandparents grow older and die. It’s sad, but that is the way of life. Now that I am getting older, my son is seeing what I saw when I was young and my parents were aging.
Recently, a friend of mine sent me an item circulating on the Internet pertaining to old age. Here are some excerpts:
“Old age, I decided, is a gift.
“I would never trade my amazing friends, my wonderful life, my loving family for less gray hair or a flatter belly.
“As I’ve aged, I’ve become more kind to myself, and less critical of myself. I’ve become my own friend. ... I have seen too many dear friends leave this world too soon; before they understood the great freedom that comes with aging. I am now, probably for the first time in my life, the person I have always wanted to be.
“Oh, not my body! I sometime despair over my body, the wrinkles, the baggy eyes, and the sagging butt. And often I am taken aback by that old person that lives in my mirror (who looks like my mother!), but I don’t agonize over those things for long. ...
“I know I am sometimes forgetful. But there again, some of life is just as well forgotten. And I eventually remember the important things.
“I will dance with myself to those wonderful tunes of the ‘50s, and if I, at the same time, wish to weep over a lost love, I will.
“I will walk the beach in a swim suit that is stretched over a bulging body, and will dive into the waves with abandon if I choose to, despite the pitying glances from the jet set.
“I am so blessed to have lived long enough to have my hair turn gray, and to have my youthful laughs be forever etched into deep grooves on my face. So many have never laughed, and so many have died before their hair could turn silver. I can say it and mean it ... broken hearts are what give us strength and understanding and compassion. A heart never broken is pristine and sterile and will never know the joy of being imperfect.
“As you get older, it is easier to be positive. You care less about what other people think. I don’t question myself anymore I’ve even earned the right to be wrong. ...
“I like being old. It has set me free. I like the person I have become. I am not going to live forever, but while I am still here, I will not waste time lamenting what could have been, or worrying about what will be. And I shall eat dessert every single day.”
No, I’m just like you. I don’t want to get old. But it is a way of life, so why not enjoy it? I know I will. So many times, we forget about our elders, but remember, without them, we would not be here today. See you next week, right here in the Morning News and on the tube.

— Cecil Chandler is a veteran reporter at WBTW News13. His column appears Mondays in the Morning News.