Nobody Outruns The Grim Reaper
No matter who you are, whether you like it or not, one day the Grim Reaper is going to come knocking on your front door. Before you know it, he'll be here. He's waiting to collect his bounty.
The decision you have to make during your short tenure on this planet is are you going to enjoy all the things good, bad and indifferent that life has to offer or are you going to be “one of those people” who never seem content, always complaining about everything, walking around with a chip on your shoulder like the world owes you something?
I do my best to be optimistic and positive. I treat people the way I would expect to be treated and although I’ve had a lot of misfortunes and dealt with a lot of adversities (crap) over the years, I seem to find a way to persevere and work through everything although it can be challenging.
Next month I turn 50. Yes, 50!
(Small pause for a moment of reflection)
I have a little difficulty with that number and the realization that this number has approached so fast without much warning. I still feel like a 25-year-old kid but the birth certificate doesn’t lie and I’m not very good at forging government documents.
When you’re young, you’re bulletproof. In the beginning you eat, sleep, poop, and repeat. You collect your teeth that fell out for the tooth fairy to offer restitution. Your biggest problem is making sure you’re tall enough reach the “must be this tall” line so you can go on the BIG rides at the amusement park. You can’t wait until you old enough to go to high school instead of public school. Then the barrier is waiting to reach sixteen so you can get your license and drive.
“Oh man I can’t wait until I’m nineteen so I can finally drink in the clubs”.
(Yes, 21 for those of you in the USA). In College or University you can’t wait until your done school so you can go out and finally start working for a living. We spend a majority of our youth wishing our lives away. The earliest years of our lives are spent fantasizing about the future, and the rest of our lives are spent hoping for more time that we already wished away.
This is when the timeline seems to speed up.
Married in your twenties: Poof, you’re thirty and have children. Where did thirty come from? You spend your thirties working, raising your children, and running your kids around to hockey, soccer, piano lessons, dance, and boom. You’re celebrating your 40th birthday.
What’s going on here? Where has the time gone? Your 40’s are similar to your 30’s with work, running kids around, except you start to notice more aches and pains and you can’t do some of the things you used to. Your energy levels aren’t the same. The extent or your party night is dinner and going to bed at 9:30, maybe even earlier.
Signs You Are Aging
- By the time you know what testosterone is, your levels are already declining.
- Gray hair starts to appear in random places. Yes, random places.
- You can’t explain the extra hair accumulation in your ears, nose and eyebrows. It’s like an unexplained pubescent growth spurt! You need to purchase a special tool(s) to keep this conundrum under control or you’ll look like the resident Chia Pet.
- You go for a check up with your Doctor and he says, “Your cholesterol is a little high.” You ask him to explain. He says, “Well, it’s basically the same as it was when you were in your twenties but now that you’re this age, it poses a higher risk to your health." This is still a head-scratcher.
- After an eye exam, the doctor says to you, “Your eyes are still pretty good, how old are you now”? When this happened to me, I replied that I’d be 50 next month. He said “I’m going to write you a new prescription for bi-focals because you’re going to need them soon.” I guess that’s similar to buying a burial plot because sooner or later…
- At 40 you get scheduled for the lovely prostate exam every time you go for a physical, but you hear about this one all the time. It gets better: At 50, you get to look forward to a wonderful exam called a colonoscopy. I’m not an expert with medical terms but I can certainly pick out the work “colon” in that compound syllable!
- Your friends think it’s funny to get you gifts for your birthday that include: adult diapers, denture glue, pill organizers, wheel chair stickers, Geritol, Seniors discount cards, and hair dye. What am I supposed to do with these.
- You can let your age (which is just a number) drag you down or you can prove to yourself and everyone around you that age doesn’t have to be a limiting factor for anything. Turning 50 doesn’t change any of the Powerlifting goals I have set for myself whatsoever. I still have every intention to squat 1000 pounds and deadlift 800 pounds before the Grim Reaper comes knocking on my door.
Enjoy your time. Appreciate all the small things. Give back to your community. Embrace the life you live and the people who surround you, enjoy the moments that define purpose, and take every advantage that travels your way.
I can still do overhead presses. I'm thankful for anything I can still do!