I recently watched some of the matches at the US Open Tennis championships, and couldn’t help thinking that some of the players’ behaviors were lacking in humility. During some matches, when a player won a particularly hard-fought point, or won the match, he or she would look up at the audience to receive their adulation.Continue reading “In Search of Praise”
Category Archives: Reflections on Aging (hmm)
Rediscovering my Yiddish
Yiddish was my first language. My Bubba, Devorah, was born in Poland, and lived with my family in Brooklyn since before I was born. She was almost 50 years old when she left Poland in 1933. She never learned English, so Yiddish was the language spoken at home. Bubba was a loving, caring presence, andContinue reading “Rediscovering my Yiddish”
Conundrums of Aging
As I get older, I find that new conundrums—problems with no easy answers—are appearing. I haven’t sought them out, nor given them much thought during my life, but they have arrived, so face them I must. First, there’s the issue of energy decline. When I had the flu and RSV this past winter, I attributedContinue reading “Conundrums of Aging”
Playdates
I recently discovered a source of pleasure that I thought I had long left behind in my childhood. Playdates! When I was young I played some of the usual childhood games, like monopoly, punchball, cards, and many other activities I did with other children. But when I became an adult with a family and aContinue reading “Playdates”
Bringing the Past Into the Future
For much of my life, I looked forward to what was coming next. When I was in school, each year I eagerly anticipated the next grade; in the various places I lived, I looked forward to moving into my next home; and when I left a job it was usually with the feeling that IContinue reading “Bringing the Past Into the Future”
Supernumerary?
I know, “supernumerary” is a difficult word to pronounce, with unclear meaning, and it has been significantly declining in usage since the 19th century. Nonetheless, it describes what I sometimes feel. Definitions include “extra, present in excess of the normal or needed number,” and synonyms include “superfluous.” At the end of a busy life, asContinue reading “Supernumerary?”
Elasticity of Time
I have recently noticed a strange contradiction in my perception of time. As I get older, I am more aware that my future time is getting shorter. I have completed the great majority of the years I will have. This makes me want to be more deliberate about what I do with the remaining time.Continue reading “Elasticity of Time”
Fragments of the Past
For my last birthday party, my daughter framed some old photos of me and placed them on tables around the party room. There was one that captivated me immediately, it was of me and a girlfriend, standing on a beach in our two-piece bikini bathing suits. Mine was a yellow polka-dot bikini, a popular styleContinue reading “Fragments of the Past”
Untethered
I was tethered for much of my life, with lots of things I had to do. It never bothered me, but I often looked forward to times when I had less responsibility- be it vacations, or when my kids were grown, or retirement. Through graduate school there were lots of assignments, and most of myContinue reading “Untethered”
Unexpected Changes That Aging Brings
In the past few years, I wrote several essays related to changes that aging brings. I anticipated many of these, like changes related to my health, and welcomed others, like having more free time for activities that I care about. But I am also finding some unexpected changes that require adaptations, and even challenge someContinue reading “Unexpected Changes That Aging Brings”
