Yes, despite what my body says, I refuse to grow old!
My youngest son Andrew turned twenty-one today. When I was a kid
twenty-one used the be the year you "got the key" - that's the age you
got to vote and were considered an adult... so metaphorically and
literrally you got the key - the physical key to let yourself in and
out of the house. I can still remember birthday cakes with large silver
keys as decoration.
But let's get back to Andrew.
He's a really sweet kid - quiet most of the time and very , very
sensitive. About this time last year he went through a very hard time
but thankfully he is now well and truly over it. He was really tiny as
a kid and took his time growing up but now he is really coming into his
own - very intelligent, with a good argumentative mind and an equally
good pen. You would still think of him as being quiet but in truth he
is very passionate about a lot of things.
And how do I come into this. Oh well - if Andrew is getting older then
I must be getting ancient - he is after all the youngest of three
children with a full five year gap between him and his older brother.
But I refuse to grow old. My body fails me occasionally - sometimes it
fails me big time. But my mind refuses to be defeated.
I will go on being inquisitive - searching for new experiences. I will
go on being playful. I will go on enjoying a good laugh everyday. I may
not be so physically active anymore but as long as I have my mental
faculties I will go on taking them to the limits. I refuse to grow old!
