The moments between the time I am full awake and still asleep are magical. There is a kaleidoscope of images and sounds that sometimes stay with me and I often find myself straining to remember just what it was that I saw. Some dreams are rooted in fantasies that could never be realized during daylight. I cannot fly nor can I run faster than a car. I don’t have super strength nor am I a wizard who can shoot lightning from my fingertips. Funny sometimes to think that even in my forties I still have these dreams of being a jedi or some kind of superhero.
My dreams aren’t limited to fantasy or things that are impossible. There are others that demonstrate that my extremely active imagination works over time. You have been in many of them. You know many of those stories just as I know yours. Been a long time since we shared those and I think that for now I’ll leave you with nothing other than the last one included Target, Grapevines, and Glade. Oh and lots of sweat leading to the sort of joyous smile you ought to wear all the time.
Back to the realities of daylight. It is a bit after 10 AM and I just finished stretching. Stretching because the forty something year old body refuses to accept that the mind it is attached to wants it to respond like it did at 19. It is not as elastic or forgiving of hard work as it used to be. There are aches and pains that come from extended use and certain positions result in a pulling sensation that suggests it would be better not to continue. It has become apparent that I cannot stop time.
I can’t stop the clock from ticking but I can slow it down. It is frustrating but reality is what it is. I teach my children to fight battles that they can win. I teach them to adapt, adjust and overcome. It would be hypocritical of me to act differently so I am working on that. Working on teaching the old dog new tricks.
The most important part of this is adjusting my diet. Really my search and destroy attitude towards food simply has to go away. I can’t put in the hours of exercise that I used to so I have to adjust my caloric intake. What worked for me in my twenties isn’t working now. I know, I haven’t been close to twenty in years. If you tell me that I am closer to fifty than I am to twenty I will slap you silly. I know exactly how old I am and why my body isn’t doing what I want it to. I also know that I can still run with the twenty somethings on the basketball court….once.
But once is better than none so I can live with that. Besides I have learned that these boys are as dumb as I was when I was there age. All I need to do is tell them that they can’t keep up with an old fat man and their egos kick in. I might not be able to run all day long, but I can one in spurts. Not to mention that I haven’t lost any strength. My body still responds to the weights so all is not lost.
Changes in life don’t have to be bad. It is all a matter of perspective and adjusting to whatever comes along. Still, it doesn’t mean that I have to enjoy these mystery aches. WTF is that about.
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