Tuesday, February 16, 2016

Lesson Learned

A long time ago I learned never to congratulate myself when things were going well. That's just asking for trouble.

You know how it is. You find some money in your coat pocket, and for a moment you are really happy with this little windfall. And then your washing machine catches fire, or the axle on your car suddenly breaks.  It's always something.

I remember the time I was learning to cross country ski, and kept falling down.  Then I got going pretty good, and had the nerve to think, "I've got the hang of this now."  Well, pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall, and fall is what I did the very next second after having such a lofty thought.  It always seems to work that way for me, but apparently I'd forgotten.

I don't remember ever telling people how old I am, or am going to be, as often as I have in recent months.  I'll be turning 70 on my next birthday, which is coming up this spring. I guess I was feeling rather proud of how well I thought I was doing for my age.  I enjoyed seeing the surprised faces, whether real or faked.  But pride is the seventh deadly sin, and I've now realized I've been paying for it.

I've told you about the knee suddenly going bad, and the little skin cancer episode.  This past week I had another vertigo attack, and have not felt well since.  I always thought aging was something that came on gradually.  Apparently you can be just fine, and then your life can suddenly be changed by even the smallest health problems. I get the point.  I will have to stop bragging about my age, and accept that I'm growing older after all. Maybe if I stop flaunting what great shape I think I'm in I'll be allowed to enjoy what time I have left without all these health related interruptions.  One can only hope.


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