Sunday, June 24, 2007

Round-round, get around, I get around -- just differently, is all

When we first moved to this house in the fall of 1998 my old cat, Griffin, used to vault himself up to the top of the five-foot wooden fence that separates our place from the nicely wooded vacant lot next door. He would then let himself down the other side and disappear into the woods for hours. We never asked him what he did over there, since we saw it as being ‘his’ business. He was about nine or 10 years old at the time.

Over the years his scaling of the fence diminished, and then one day (I’m not sure exactly when) it stopped completely. He was too old, I guess, since he’s now about 18. I’ve asked him if he misses it, but get no response. He doesn’t seem to pine for the other side of the fence, but seems perfectly content with this side. He doesn’t actually go outside very much at all now. Maybe for about 10 minutes at the time. He generally seems to sleep for about 22 hours a day, but is otherwise perfectly healthy, as far as we know.

In other words, he recognized his limitations at a certain point and somehow decided to not do his ‘old stuff’ any longer. I think that’s a healthy attitude.

I find similar things happening within myself. But, maybe my attitude isn’t quite as healthy as Griff’s. Some of the old stuff I actually miss. That’s because I have a memory – not a prominent feature within cats, I suspect.

I notice some changes within myself and I conclude that life is a matter undergoing changes that sometimes we’re not aware of. We simply ‘stop’ doing certain things, unwittingly. We don’t get up in the morning and say to ourselves, “I think I’ll stop doing (this particular thing) today. I’ve done it enough and it doesn’t work for me any more.”

So, I look to my changes and with some of them I wonder why they have happened. Changes as follows:

1. I no longer run.
Look at little children. They run all the time. I’m not talking about recreational ‘running’, by the way (though a good walk is actually a better CV workout). I can’t remember the last time I ran just for the sheer exuberance of it; just because it was something I needed to do. If a bear was chasing me, I’d run. Otherwise a good brisk walk works.
2. I no longer roll down grassy hills. Children always roll down grassy hills. The same applies to turning somersaults, walking on my hands, or walking on stilts. Though, I think if I actually had stilts I might try once again.
3. I no longer try to see how long I can hold my breath. Just being able to breathe is good enough for me.
4. I no longer play air guitar. Hey, I was once better than Eddie Van Halen and Eric Clapton combined – in my fantasies.
5. I no longer do dance steps or soft-shoe through the house. I don’t know why, but I just don’t.
6. An intimate encounter is a sweet and blessed thing, and just that. I don’t think I want any further marathons.
7. I no longer fret if I don’t have anything to do on a Saturday night. I actually fret if I have ‘something’ to do on a Saturday night, especially if it’s something I don’t want to do. Life’s short, and I am very stingy with my time.
8. I no longer cartoon. I’ve mentioned before how I spent much of my lifetime drawing cartoons, sometimes even professionally, and certainly always as a recreation. I have drawers full of them. Some of them aren’t bad, either. Then, one day, about 15 years ago, I stopped. I have no idea why. Oh, I’ll still doodle if I’m in a boring meeting but otherwise, nothing in the manner of drawing. I paint, but I ‘serious’ paint, not cartoony paint. I have no answer as to why.


I could probably go on and on with this, but I’d be more interested in the changes in your lives and the things you once did and then, often unquestioningly, stopped. I guess it’s all about transitions.




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12 Comments:

Blogger Voyager said...

Ian, with the big five-oh only a couple of months away, I think about this too. Just yesterday I got the old roller blades out and went for a shaky spin. Not because I had a burning desire to go blading, but because I realized it was something I had not done for several years, and I did not want it to be one of those things that I've just stopped doing. Like rock climbing. And running (both kinds). And quilting. On the other hand, in the same time period that I've given up climbing and running, I've taken up wake boarding and hockey. I suspect you too are doing things now you never did before.
V.

9:32 AM  
Blogger heartinsanfrancisco said...

Yes, there certainly are such things, but I attribute most of them to fibromyalgia, which I developed several years ago, rather than aging.

Pain can put a damper on most activities.

Yet, I still yearn to try new things like skate boarding. (While dreading what I would do to myself, klutz that I am and fragile besides, as it turns out.)

I think that Voyager's point is well taken about doing things now that you never did before. As long as we keep learning new skills and challenging ourselves, we won't have to consider ourselves "old." No matter what anyone else says.

8:00 PM  
Blogger geewits said...

The first thing that came to mind is that I stopped spending hours lying in the sun. I will, occasionally sit in the sun for about 20 minutes, but it used to be a major production. Like Voyager said, we develop new hobbies. I really enjoy organizing things. I used to be a messy pack-rat. Now when a charity calls for a donation I will say yes, even if I have nothing in mind, and will fill up a box. And I love throwing things out and making new clean spaces. I also enjoy doing all sorts of general home improvement indoors and out. The one thing I will NEVER stop doing? Dancing around the house. You should go back to that one.

12:48 AM  
Blogger Groanin' Jock said...

I've noticed that I don't run too much nowadays either - which is strange, as I used to be a county-class sprinter. I just don't see the need anymore I guess!

By the way, you've won a Thinking Blogger award - see my site for details.

3:10 AM  
Blogger Big Brother said...

As I age my interests change as well my physical capabilities. Not that I can no longer do things but they are harder to do and harder to get over once done. I used to run cross country when I was young but now, nope, it just hurts the knees too much. There is a certain wisdom in recognizing our limits. Like you. I believe that life is too short to do things we no longer like because we used to do them. Life moves on, as do our tastes and priorities. ;o)

9:36 AM  
Blogger jmb said...

Well I don't ride my mountain bike anymore. Lots of people my age (70 plus) do but somehow I've lost my nerve and I'm scared of falling and breaking something.
But I took up blogging instead and is that ever a steep learning curve, since I don't have the "young guy" help that you have.

11:00 AM  
Blogger Ellee Seymour said...

I miss playing the clarinet, reading lots of books and spending more time gardening, many because of some studies I am currently doing, as well as blogging.

But then if I didn't blog, I wouldn't have met lovely people like you.

11:03 AM  
Blogger CS said...

Ah, yeah, I now hate to run and do so rarely. But I am still occassionally moved to do a cartwheel (even though it hurts my wrists) and I dance at home a lot. I don't drink as much. I try to sleep a little more. But I'm not ready to give up on the "marathons" yet!

5:53 PM  
Blogger Bibi said...

Very funny Ian. I used to dance all night long; even if I was at home with my sister. Now I get pooped after 3 dances! And I no longer pinch strange men's butts at nightclubs they'd arrest me these days, but it used to be fun!) In fact, I no longer go to nightclubs.

But I still do a flying gambol on fresh grass, sand, or snow ... and plan to go on doing that for a long, long time!!

9:24 PM  
Blogger Jazz said...

I just had a birthday last weekend and the last thing I want to think about today is the stuff I no longer do.

Maybe it's just as well I no longer do it, some of it being illegal and all.

6:09 AM  
Blogger Shades said...

I no longer skip whilst running along- but I probably stopped doing that 40 years ago.

9:16 AM  
Blogger noneofyourbusiness said...

I was trying to think of the things I've stopped doing, Ian ... but I believe it's perhaps easier to think of the things I do which I never did before, since there are far too many in the first category, but only a few in the second ...

The things which have changed seem to reflect more than mere aging - attitudes, perceptions, and the reactions and thoughts which change along with them.

Ah Ian ... your posts always lead me down unexpected paths ... ;o)

7:03 AM  

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