A friend recently posted a link to the message “Do not regret growing older. It is a privilege denied to many.” Fortunately, I do NOT regret GROWING older as I have no control over that.
However, Regrets? Yeah, I’ve had a few. I regret some of the things that I did have control over that are still affecting HOW I’m growing older:
· Not exercising more and eating less to stay in shape (wait - round IS a shape)
· Not stretching before that game of racquetball that tore my Achilles (the limp isn’t THAT noticeable)
· Not looking before I jumped and destroyed my ankle by twisting it on a jutting stone (other side, which explains why the other limp isn’t THAT noticeable)
· Not putting down a piece of plastic on the wet rock before I sat (Mom was right, ‘nuff said - any more would just be TMI)
· Tipping over a canoe in rushing river ice melt (hypothermia wasn’t fun and now I’m cold whenever the temperature drops below 78)
· Kissing the quarterback’s girlfriend in high school (one of several teeth that didn’t make it into adulthood and I intensely dislike my partials)
· Not trimming toenails more studiously (a couple had to be removed, so stubbed toes hurt worse now)
· Slamming my thumb in a car door because I was so ticked that a State Trooper gave me a ticket for passing on the right - after he pulled me over in my parent’s driveway (Dad was TICKED and that thumbnail never did grow back right – although it did give me an identifiable scar to report to the Navy for body identification if ever needed)
· Forgetting to put the protector on the boat prop before I rammed my arm against that sharp stainless steel blade (nice long, curved scar on my arm that I really don’t need now that I’m retired from the military)
· Working around diesel engines without proper ear protection (eh, what? NO, I’m NOT Canadian, Australian or British!)
· Spending too much time on submarines and working on computers (near AND far sighted, bifocals confuse the heck out of me)
· Getting rid of my ’56 Chevy when I was 17 to get a ’64 Ford Galaxie (What WAS I thinking?)
But I could not possibly regret growing older. It’s such a great excuse for getting away with so many things. As some of those are best left unsaid, I’ll just stop now and release you back to your life, Ramble Over.