If You Live Long Enough…

One of the phrases that my mom often says is, "If you live long enough, you get old." She says it on a regular basis and it's actually become a bit of an inside joke between my mom, my sister Chandra and me. Whenever she starts to say, "If you live long enough…" Chandra and I will chime in (in unison) with, "you get OLD!"

If you live long enough, you WILL get old. This is the sad but true reality of mortality. It's quite disheartening to see the physical toll that time takes on our bodies. Beauty fades, eyes dull, wrinkles form, backs stoop, bellies paunch, breasts sag, vision blurs, heads of hair silver, arms turn to flab, skin loses turgor, pounds pack on and once tight bods start to jiggle and waggle. All of this, plus a myriad of other maladies that will inevitably develop as your body ages is enough to make you want to climb into bed and pull the covers over your head!

Before long you wake up and realize your best days are behind you and your physical prime has long since passed. I personally think there's a window from about age 25 to 45 where people look their best. Of course, some people's windows are a little bit longer or shorter than others' based on their lifestyle and genetics, but generally everyone has a few "bright eyed and bushy tailed" decades before they start to sink and sag.

Take a look at these collages I've made of some well-known celebrities that show their age progression through the years: Brad Pitt, Robert Redford, Tom Cruise, Meryl Streep, George Clooney, Sallie Field, Johnny Depp and Rob Lowe. Brad Pitt is a great example. He's always been a great looking guy and has aged well, but I think his most attractive years are behind him. Don't get me wrong; he's still an extremely attractive man (when he keeps his hair short and his beard in check) but his skin has aged and wrinkled and he's not as fresh as he was in his 30's.

I don't mind getting older, but I do admit that I dread the physical toll that age will take on my mortal frame, especially since I feel like the deck is already stacked against me when you combine paralysis with the aging process. It's not going to be a pretty sight!