Chicken Blog

Good morning!

Geoff is walking to the office. Max has the television remote control, and he's living out a recurring fantasy: Master and Commander. William is reading in bed. Alex is stretched out, waiting to see what Max settles on. I am enjoying my breakfast: Hot tea, no sweetener. Mmmm, so filling!

Only one certainty for this weekend, which is a surprise party for our friend Yanina. She announced it at MNO a few months ago. She's turning forty and has left it to her husband and daughters to host a surprising event. At this point I don't know how much of it is unknown to her, but from what I know it promises to be a fun evening.

Note to self: Find sitter. Shave legs (first sign of spring.)

Geoff and I may be tuning in to a master plan for our future. Trick! But seriously, we are trying to figure everything out, like; where to live, where to work, why work, what to wear etc...It's not easy. Mostly we have come to the conclusion that we aren't ready to decide yet.

The other night we were checking out a gym class for Alex and Max, when the boys were approached by a friendly and curious boy. The ten year old boy asked Alex and Max their names, and ages, and then he asked the same of Geoff.

Geoff replied, "I'm 38."
Boy: "Whoa!"
Geoff: "Does that seem young or really old?"
Boy: "No, you're young. Really young. My dad's 65. He's old."

Three women overhearing this, including the boy's mother, interjected in tones of political correctness and societal politeness: "He's not old." "65 isn't old." They carried on in this vein, and I thought: "Ya. He's old. 65 is old."

"Old" has so many negative implications, I guess, that they had to fend the description off with a big stick. They didn't dare let the word "old" land on the guy's character. But on a scale of 1 to 90, 65 certainly comes out on the far side of "new." 65 is not ancient, decrepit, senile or fading fast, but are we really so insistent on worshipping youth that we can't honor aging?

Baby Boomers beware: You are getting old. Stay fit and active, enjoy good food and good music, travel, play, make babies if you want, live fully, but what you do and how you rationalize cannot change chronology. Why not assume a posture of pride? Claim your age and declare: "I am old and old looks this good and has this much to offer and I am prepared to get older still." We are all getting old. Getting old is the optimal outcome.