Garth George: Getting old 'ain't for sissies'

As I sit at my computer with a sore throat, a runny nose, coughing, spluttering and feeling generally miserable, I am reminded that the older I get the worse these minor afflictions seem to affect me.

I am reminded, too, that there is a lot of truth in the words of the late, great Paul Newman who is reported to have said, on turning 70, "Getting old ain't for sissies".

Age is something that creeps up on one so slowly - one day at a time, in fact - that it is pretty much imperceptible. So by the time one is forced to the undeniable conclusion that one is really "getting on" it can come as quite a shock.

The physical symptoms aren't hard to recognise. My hair started to go grey in my late 30s but that was no big deal. It sure beat losing it.

And since the writer of Proverbs says that "... the splendour of old men is their grey head" I have always eschewed hair tints. But ever since I became 100 per cent grey and the hair started to thin, I have wondered what Solomon had in mind when he used the word "splendour".

Way back in my mid-40s my arms got too short for me to read the newspaper yet I could still see a speed camera at 1000 metres. A visit to the optician confirmed the need for glasses which, after false teeth, continue to be the biggest nuisance in life.

Yet I thank God that I haven't ever had to get stronger glasses and can buy them at any $2 shop.

I am grateful, too, that I remain immune to cholesterol problems irrespective of what I eat, and continue to consume with great relish all things fatty, salty and sugary.

The result, of course, has been an inevitable thickening of the waistline, but that's not a problem. Anyone who asks "What about the waistline?" is flippantly told, "I don't have one".

Nevertheless, gradually one is forced to the inescapable conclusion that the old body just doesn't look and isn't performing like it used to, and things that once used to come naturally just don't any more.

The lines that were once dismissed as giving one a "lived-in face" become crevices when you're tired and dark rings round the eyes make the craters of the moon look attractive.

One tends to look enviously at young folk with their dark heads, eagle eyes, smooth complexions, even white teeth and flat stomachs; and some of one's seniors who, irrespective of age, seem to retain full-coloured hair, smooth faces and a vitality that belies their age. You realise that it's been a long time since a woman gave you a second glance - or even a first - except your wife, bless her.

Years ago my doctor told me a simple exercise regimen of fast walking for 20 minutes three times a week would seriously improve my well-being. I tried it, albeit grudgingly, and it worked so well that for years now I have walked fast for at least half an hour five times a week because I feel better for it physically and that helps in keeping a mental and emotional balance.

Most importantly, however, I try always to keep in mind the words of my Lord Jesus, who said: "Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things [material, mental and emotional needs] will be added to you." For I know absolutely that if my relationship with God (my spiritual life) is right, everything else will be fine, too; that I am what I am - and that's okay - head cold and all.

Once upon a time it was my ambition to grow old disgracefully. Nowadays I'll settle for growing old gracefully.

garth.george@hotmail.com.