On Being Old

This past Friday night I spent time with my old friends. It used to be that I said "old friends" meaning that we have been friends for a long time, but now old means old.

Around the table after the homecoming banquet were four of my friends who I have known since I was 12. We went to youth camps and retreats together and knew each other in those awkward middle and high school years.

Then we headed to college together where we met the other 15 or so people who joined us for something to eat and drink (non-alchololic of course). We gathered around 9 p.m.

The first sign that we were aging was the conversation as some of us stood waiting for the others at the entrance to the restaurant. We remarked that if we were home, Friday night or not, we would most likely be getting ready for bed at 9:30. We shared how we often get up early and that we ned to go to bed early in order to do that.

When we were finally seated it came time to order. They didn't have decaf coffee available and that began a conversation of what would we order if we couldn't have something decaf that time of night? Caffeine would keep us up. Of course, there is always Tylenol PM or Benadryl, and we discussed the pros and cons of each of those sleep aids.

Wrinkles was another topic, and we noted that those who are fatter (me, in particular) have less wrinkles. I recommended wait gain to the thin ones who were obsessing about wrinkles.

It was a fun night. It was great to reconnect. But it was a shocking revelation, as I had not seen some of those folks in over 20 years, that life stops for nobody. And that even if we all feel 20 in our minds and hearts, our bodies are not 20 any more.