Aging with Grace

I grabbed a pile of dust, and holding it up, foolishly asked for as many birthdays as the grains of dust, I forgot to ask that they be years of youth.

Ovid

I heard this quote from, Metamorphoses by Ovid last week and I have been thinking about it ever since. My twenties were some of the most difficult times of my life. Youth wasn’t a panacea for my problems. In fact, I believe lack of life experience made those years more of a challenge.

“This is the best time of your life” a teacher told our high school class. Another teacher, after hearing about the comment, disagreed. In his opinion, we should look forward to many good times ahead. Years later, I still remember the comment. Was high school destined to be the best time of my life? In retrospect,I don’t think so. There have been many good times through the years.

Maybe, it’s more about quality of life than age. Earlier this week, I went to hear Fran Lebowitz speak. She talked about the tour she was currently on, covering not only the United States, but several countries. At 73 years old, this can’t be easy. That night, her plane was late getting in, she rushed from the airport, already an hour late for the performance, and was on stage until 10PM. The next day, she was leaving for Austin,Texas. An interviewer once asked why she continued to work so hard. Her answer was, she needed the money. She said it without drama. It was just the way things were.

I don’t believe age has much to do with happiness. It’s more about quality of life. Good health, family, friends, financial security and state of mind are important factors. Do I sometimes wish I was 30 years younger? Maybe, occasionally, I do. For me it’s more about missed opportunities than lost youth.