My Better Half?
First of all, I married well, and my wife Mary is my true better half.
She makes me smile even after 40 years of marriage. He who finds a good wife finds a good thing, and my wife is very, very good.
However, I did not marry her for her knowledge of football.
I could be considering that my 'better half' might accurately describe the first 34 years of my almost 68-year existence when I was young and arthritis free. Of course, on the bright side, I now qualify for senior discounts.
So this brings me to my recent annual doctor’s checkup.
I learned several things from my doctor today. Firstly, I am in relatively good health. Arthritis in my right knee, and I could afford to lose a few pounds, but the wheels have not completely fallen off my wagon yet. Secondly, I am twice the age of my 34-year-old doctor, who is one of my all-time favorite doctors. He has a very even demeanor, actually listens, and he has a good sense of humor.
At one point, I was telling him about all the surveys the clinic makes me complete before my appointment. Two of the surveys were identical. They both ask if I am depressed, suicidal, and/or living in a car. I told my doc I was happy, not depressed, suicidal, and I live in a townhome. Doc replied I don’t know why you have to fill those out, as we never even see that data.
I then asked him if he ever uses ChatGPT (AI) to diagnose his patients. He says, 'Not yet,' but your appointment is not over yet… so there's still time. Then he says, ‘You want to see something cool?’ Of course, I did, so he showed me his computer screen where it calculated based on my cholesterol level (which was pretty good), combined with my age of almost 68, that I have a 13.3% chance of having a major heart attack in the next 10 years.
Cool, WHAT?… that’s not cool! Bad doctor… bad, bad doctor.
But he replies, “Think about it, in 10 years, you will be 78 and running on fumes… IF you are still running.”
The average life expectancy for men in the US is 74.8 years.
I countered that in 10 years,
I will be reaching my prime, telling stories about fighting a bad dude named Corn Pop, and
announcing my candidacy for President.
Without missing a beat, Doc segues into another study correlating cholesterol and dementia. I think Doc believes I am his lab rat, and then Doc adds, “But I don’t think I can get your cholesterol low enough to slow your eventual dementia.” Again, I must say.. BAD DOCTOR, not cool, bad, bad doctor!
Actually, it was all interesting, and it moved on to the subject of my getting older. And though I feel pretty good, I also know I have more life lived in my rear view mirror than I do looking out my windshield of life ahead of me.
And… that’s ok.
I am at that age where my parents, aunts, and uncles have passed away. No one is really in front of me in life’s ‘CHECK OUT’ line anymore, as I hear a voice calling “NEXT!” now serving number 68. YIKES, the guy is wearing a hoodie and carrying a sickle. It’s either John Fetterman or the Grim Reaper.
In summary, no one gets to skip getting older, so why not enjoy the ride? As I stand here ever closer to the front of life’s checkout line, I wish people behind me would QUIT PUSHING, as I am not ready… but
Until then, let me live by the words of King Solomon … "I perceived that there is nothing better for ME than to be joyful and to do good as long as I live; also that I should eat and drink and take pleasure in all MY toil—this is God’s gift to man." Ecclesiastes 3:12-13
So… tomorrow I will be livin-la-vida-Ecclesiastes
Making this second half of life my BETTER HALF.
May God bless each of you, young or old, as this is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.'
Jeff ( Not HALF bad ) Larson
