On the Nature of Aging

This morning, I awoke to find that my ankle was sore. Not too uncomfortable, just a bit of a twinge. And, like many things, this caused me to begin thinking. Oh, I try to avoid it whenever possible – but more often than not I will end up thinking anyway – if only to think about how I shouldn’t be thinking quite so much.

This morning, my thoughts centered around aging. Not in a bad way, necessarily, but in that kind of inexorable march kind of way. Time is something you simply can’t stop, and no matter how many times you watch Through the Wormhole: with Morgan Freeman, you’re always going to end up in the same place.  The best you can hope for is to simply slow down your perception of time. Like by moving to Hell, drifting into a coma or perhaps wandering across the event horizon of a black hole.

But back to my ankle. It was sore because I’ve been trying to disprove an adage. Something about geriatric canines and novel tomfoolery. You see, around four years ago, I received an extraordinary birthday present: my first skateboard. Actually, it wasn’t just any skateboard. It was a super-mega-cool tricked out Arbor Pin longboard. It has a Koa veneer deck, ABEC 3 bearings, crazy grippy wheels and is 46” long. It is, in essence, the skateboard equivalent of Christina Hendricks. Beautiful, with curves in all the right places, and yet inexplicably enjoyable to be around (or so it seems – I’ve never actually had the opportunity to meet Ms. Hendricks).

I didn’t really ride Ms. Hendricks much after receiving her. She was fun, but I didn’t have much in the way of company when I rode her. And if I’m going to fall off something, I like knowing that there’s someone around to run for help. So she sat in the corner.

And then something remarkable happened. My oldest son grew. And grew. And grew some more. In fact, he’s still growing. And while this was happening, my middle guy grew as well. And now I have two sons who think that skateboarding is cool and they want to do it with me. And one who doesn’t quite yet know what to think of a skateboard, but who seems to enjoy the ride.

So now I’m back to learning to ride Ms. Hendricks. And it is making my ankle hurt. So you see an old dog can learn a new trick – it just might require ibuprofen.

The skateboarding isn’t the only new trick in my repertoire, however. I’m pleased to say that I’ve been spinning, and it is getting easier. I finished my first spool of hand-sheared, hand-washed, hand-carded, hand-spun woolen yarn last week. It is usable, but there is clearly room for improvement. I finished the second spool last night, and will set the twist tonight. It is more even than the first spool – so hopefully I’m getting better. Now if I could just find a way to do a G-turn on Ms. Hendricks. . .

~TSMK