Covid Cabin Fever

By Raoul Pascual

Raoul’s 2 Cents

Age Adjustment

It’s hard to believe the Christmas break is over… hard to believe 2020 is over… hard to believe I’m not as young as my mind thinks I am.

There is a saying that people’s self-image is transfixed on their prime years. We think we can still jump and run like we did back in our twenties. That’s why it’s always a shock to see the old person in front of the mirror. I confess that I often dream about my childhood years and the characters in my dream are people from my youth. In my dreams I still live in my childhood home. How weird is that?

Hollywood is a prime source of age-deniers. Can you blame them? Maybe they hear me when I watch old movies and point out how much older the actors are today. Maybe that’s why actors are suckers for plastic surgeries.

I admit I too was a denier. When that bald spot started to expand its boundaries I researched for hair solutions. When I started to look like a frog with a bad case of botox because of the puffiness around my eyes, I asked my ophthalmologist to have it removed. But he looked at it and said it would require an expensive plastic surgery.

He uttered a key word — EXPENSIVE. Only Holly-weirdos do that! And that slapped me into accepting the inevitable force of gravity.

I figured out a strange balance of scales: With age, our physical bodies go down but wisdom from experience goes up. (At least we like to think so). We have a choice: 1) to devote our time searching for the fountain of youth or 2) to embrace our age and share our life lessons with friends and the younger generation. Maybe that’s why I love conversations. With older people, I have so much to learn. With younger people, I have so much to share. Life is exciting no matter what age. How cool is that?

Be safe, be healthy, and remember: You can’t help getting old but you don’t have to get old. TGIF people!

Raoul

“I’m not getting old. I’m getting better!”
— Shirley Bassey