Getting old

A month or so ago I wished a good friend of mine and a classmate a happy birthday. I figured Jim was probably 70, so I asked if he was. Jim isn't much on Facebook or emails and such, so his wife later posted that Jim thanked me for the well wishes. Jim also said he was surprised that he was still alive and had actually made it to 70. I had thought the same thing. I feel very fortunate to have made it to 70 as well. I don't want to kick the bucket, but I do feel fortunate.

Getting old just seems to happen. When young, all we want was to get older, whether it be 16 to drive or 16 to have a legal beer in Colorado. And before we knew it, 16 was here and we were graduating and heading to college, or at least some of us. At the time Vietnam was going on so we all signed up for the draft. I think I drew something like 312 or something. It was college for me. Got married in 1972 and along came a couple boys. Off to college again to graduate and then to my first job as a pastor in Scott City. And we've been here for something like 34 years or so. Hard to believe it's been that long but it has. And here I am sitting on 70 years old. Hard to believe.

I've had a good life. Have two boys who are workers and are successful. I'm proud of them. Have grandchildren, and they are awesome as are most grandchildren. Smart doesn't describe them at all. Brilliant sounds better, but then I'm a grandfather.

All I'd heard was that the older years were the golden years of life, and in many ways this is true. Maybe once or twice a month, I set my alarm just in case I don't wake up. Most of the time I don't have to be anywhere so can pretty much decide over my morning coffee what the day holds. And if the day doesn't sound like a work day, then we can take the day off and play. Once in a while we drop everything and head to the winery for a bottle of wine, a reuben and a panini and some pickles. Love pickles. Love those pickles that used to be in the big jars in the old beer joints. Wish we had a recipe for them.

A slow day for us now is to get a brisket and a good roast out and put on the pellet smoker. Takes pretty much all day to get it done and smoked right. Smokers are slow, so there is no hurry in them. I smoked one of each the other day and seasoned it with garlic salt, a Greek seasoning and some strawberries. Mmm, good! It was a good day!

But for some the older years are fraught with problems and sickness. For most of us those young years are pretty healthy years. We can do what we want and are able to do so. Back when we first got married, we could drive all night and still be ready for the day. Now we drive half a day, and we're ready for a room and rest. Almost all of my life I'd been pretty healthy and able to do about anything I wanted. Along came middle age, and it seemed like I kind of started to slide downhill healthwise. I think this is common for many going into their 60s and 70s and 80s.

Kind of like one of my tractors. I bought an old T0 30 from a friend of mine, and I eventually put a loader on it. Man, it works real good part of the time, but then other times not so good. We were using it the other day to lift some posts up and something went sideways. It could barely lift the empty bucket. I'd talked to an old feller about it not working probably 20 years ago, and he said to adjust the hydraulic controls. Worked then, but not this time. So now what? Back in 1950, the T0 30 was new and was a fine tractor. Seventy years later, it's showing its age, kind of like me.

My eyesight sure isn't what it was. Tom told me a year or two ago I needed cataract surgery. One of these days I'll have to get it done. Hearing is getting to be more of a problem. Too many years of abusing my hearing have sure done a job on my ears. All I could think about when a boy and teenager was shooting my guns. From an old .22 to an '06, I put a lot of lead downrange. Plumbing isn't as good. Darn sure don't sleep like I did back when I was 20. A good night's rest now may be three or four hours and head to the outhouse. Back to bed and maybe sleep.

I've heard a lot complain and complain about getting old, but honestly the alternative isn't very attractive. I kind of enjoy life. There are days I enjoy it more than others. I used to hate waking up and not being able to sleep, but now I just pray for my friends and family. My one sister had four kids, and the other had seven. Two of the kids are deceased, so now there are nine nephews and nieces that I pray for. Throw in my sisters and brother and some cousins, and the list is getting longer. There are three Kennies I pray for, with each one having physical problems. My list contains our family and, of course, Jeannie's family. Enjoyable just bringing them before God.

There are times I can't sleep so I've been getting up and making me a cup of coffee. Love coffee to say the least. Since I roast my own green beans, my coffee is fresh, and it's hard telling where the beans are from. Right now I'm drinking beans from Ethiopia and Guatemala. Both pretty good coffee. Got a text from a good friend last night who was roasting some beans from Kenya. But once I get my cup of coffee I've been reading from the Bible. Some would say not real exciting, but I'd have to disagree. It's exciting reading about events in the past how God has interacted with His people.

I truly enjoy gardening. We get kind of carried away and plant too much, but this will be our last year testing new seeds and varieties. Trying some new varieties of plants this year. Oregon Spring looks to be the best one we are trying. Another is Thornburg terra cotta tomato. I got the seed from an open pollinated supplier and am anticipating trying it. We love going out to the garden and digging some new fresh potatoes. Boiling them and dressing them up with a little butter and salt and pepper. Or picking and eating a fresh tomato and a cucumber. Or matter of fact, a sweet bell pepper or maybe a spicy Alma Paprika or Ancho pepper. Or even zucchini dipped in eggs and cracker crumbs fried in bacon grease.

We both enjoy a new batch of baby cats as they first get their eyes open and then begin to explore the world. We enjoy our steers. Marge has been hand-feeding them cotton cake and has turned the 800-pound steers into pets.

Even with all the negatives, old age is a blessing. If you are older, enjoy it even amidst the negatives if there are some.