Here’s an interesting dichotomy. Please look closely at the photo above. Is this what the tail end of middle age is all about?
Occasionally I receive mailings from a company that installs walk-in tubs – the kind used by, you know, old and or disabled people. But, for the last couple of years, I’ve also been receiving periodicals from “Parents” magazine. I suddenly feel like I’m one of the three last people on Earth – and the other two are a drug dealer and a politician.
Why?
I’m 58 now and am starting experience the early signs of an aging physique and mind: occasional loss of balance, difficulty squatting down and getting back up, saying whatever comes to mind with little regard for the consequences. In some respects, I feel like both my body and mind have tired of me and want to lead separate lives. For the most part I don’t blame them.
But note to self: I DON’T NEED A FUCKING WALK-IN TUB!!!
Not yet anyway.
The “Parents” magazine is more shocking. I don’t know how I got subscribed. It’s not like that time back in the mid-1970s when some neighbors – impressed with my curiosity and precocious nature – bought us a two-year subscription to “National Geographic”; a subscription I maintain to this day.
I literally had to do a double-take when I saw “Parents”. It didn’t seem to be a complimentary issue; a trial run. My name and address are on the label!
It’s a true irony, though. I always wanted to be a dad. To get married and settle down into a nice comfortable suburban life. But I also wanted to be a world-famous scientist, an architect, an actor and singer. Some things just don’t happen because there weren’t meant to happen. Oh well…
I’m still a writer! Something I definitely wanted to do with my life!
After peeling off the labels, the two above-mentioned items go into the recycle batch. And I go into the kitchen to grab some wine!
Some things go just as planned.
Chief Writing Wolf 