Life gets better as one ages.

I'm becoming more conscious of my age. Because I never expected to live this long. It seems so strange. That suddenly, here I am. Three-quarters of a century on Earth. I don't feel like an old man. Unless I tell myself that 76 is old. When I was younger, I always thought of 76 as old. Not as old as 86. But old, nevertheless. Makes me a little self-conscious. Because I am now often identified by others as old. Because the majority of living people are younger than me. And now when I enter a room, I'm often the oldest person in the room. When I think about it, that makes me feel old. And odd. I'd like to ignore my age. And just go about living without any thought about age. But there are reminders. Such as things I am no longer adept at. Little things. Big things. But I compensate. Maybe that's the most important thing to do when one grows old. Find ways to compensate for what one loses. Both physically and mentally. Fortunately, I have to admit, that in some ways life gets better as one ages. --Jim Broede