Growing older

BY LARRY WHITELEY                                    

His mornings begin when it is still dark. He sits at his desk reading his Bible. Then he turns to his computer writing stories to hopefully touch the hearts of those who read them. He calls himself a word painter.

When the sun starts rising, he takes his coffee outdoors to watch and listen to the start of the day. The silence, the slow stillness of early light. It is his favorite part of the day. He sometimes thinks about how many years he has left on this old earth. He doesn’t worry about it. He knows where he will be going when that time comes.

In his younger years, he was usually up early to fish, hunt, hike, or go camping. Because of his age, he doesn’t do much of that anymore. He is content to find a quiet place to reflect on memories he made with family and friends.

He stays busy with both mind and body. If he is not writing, he is out tending the garden, mowing, weed-eating, busting and stacking firewood, or in his workshop making things. He is grateful he can still do all that.

His wife is usually up by 8 a.m. Their marriage has lasted for many years when so many others have not. They traveled a lot when they were younger to visit grandkids in other states. They have been to many of our national parks. They have weathered life together.

Their home is filled with pictures of kids and grandkids. They all grew up outdoors on the water or in the woods. They don’t see them much anymore except for birthdays and holidays. They live in other states and are busy with their own lives. Sometimes they will get a phone call or a text.

At their age, the long drive to visit them is hard. The highways are a scary thing to them now. So are crowded airplanes and airports. They stay home with their memories. They stay active in their church, where they have many adults and kids who seem like family to them.

Our world has changed a lot in their lifetime.  After breakfast, he walks up the hill behind the house to his workshop. The cool morning air feels good. Fitness used to be about strength, but now it’s about motion, about keeping the machine running.

He speaks of aging with clarity, not regret. He believes that you slow down. You adapt. But you don’t stop. For him, growing older is a gift, not a burden. He’s lost family and friends. He thinks of buddies with whom he served our country. They did not get to live the life he has.

He’s seen change sweep through our world. Many of them he feels are not for the better. He cherishes the now. Every moment, every breath. He puts any worries he might have in God’s hands.

As night falls, he goes back outside where the day began, listening to the sounds of the night. There is peace in the stillness. There is peace in knowing that God is always there to talk to. There is peace in knowing he has had a good life. There is a peace in growing older.

Something to think about

“Do not grow old, no matter how long you live. Never cease to stand like curious children before the great mystery into which we were born.”  

- Albert Einstein

Missouri Ozarks native Larry Whiteley has communicated the great outdoors across America for over 40 years through newspapers, magazines, books, blogs and a nationally syndicated radio show. To read more of his award-winning stories, go to www.storiesbylarry.com. Email him at larrywhiteley2@gmail.com