Signs of Aging

The creaks and crunching sounds are the first giveaway that the body is aging. Shortness of breath at inopportune times is another. Oh, gray hair does not always signal aging, I’m one of those whose hair has barely changed hues and I’m nearly 82. It’s a gene thing they say.

Another gene thing is timing of death. So many of us have experienced death among our friends and some of us in our immediate household. That’s when aging becomes mighty apparent. Death and dying is a constant in all our lives. We will die someday, and all of us are in the process of dying every day. We just don’t think of it that way.

In my case, both parents are now gone. My life partner, Rocky, is gone, nearly 20 months. My ex-wife’s husband died a week ago. Most of us have older siblings who are closer to death than we. That’s the chronology of life. The beginning has an inevitable end. Of that we are certain, and the passing of time – aging – is clearly marked.

Forgetting things may be thought of as aging, but it truly is not. No, those of us of advancing age know more and forget more than younger folk. The packet of memories is that large and difficult to drag through all of life. Some of those details fall away never to be had again. Again, most people don’t think of it in this way.

I’m reminded of advancing technology. I adapted early to technology over 50 years ago. In those days change came steadily but at a much slower pace. We got used to things operating in a certain way, then someone came up with a better process. We adapted to that as well. Eventually we arrived at today’s enormous, complicated technology base. The change is swift today. Often, several changes are made simultaneously, and we elders are more than a bit nonplussed. We have to let go of so much accumulated process knowledge to learn the new. It is not an easy thing to do. Worse, it makes us look incompetent.

Values are another segment of our aging process. We grew up thinking of others and making life better for them. We participated in that process. Later, government became the process, and we didn’t have to think about it as much. The needs, however, remain a part of our society’s life. Allowing government programs to be dismantled for political purposes is just wrong. Nothing much is in place to replace the means to help the less fortunate if the programs disappear.

Government is about serving the needs of everyone. It is hard work to do this, and costly. Systems are needed to do the job right; plus, dedicated staff make it work well. This work is intentional and needed. It is part of the systems of values that define who we are as a people. Denying that does not erase the value. It stains us as a people to allow it to happen. 

And this has nothing to do with aging!

Is that really what the MAGA people think is right? Truly?

March 19, 2025

 

 

 

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