Aging? No!

Last Saturday, April 9th, Momma and I (with grandparents) went to a wedding party in Burlington, about 50km west of here.

It was the wedding of Peter (youngest son of close family friends, Elda and Philips Pinili) to a young woman, Karolyn, from that city. It is obviously a significant milestone for everyone closely involved, but to me and Momma, it also has an added dimension to it. Peter was our ring bearer, on our own wedding twenty five years, one month, and one day ago last Saturday, a fact they mentioned in one of the many speeches made during the reception dinner. (No, we were not called to the front, not mentioned by name, or even made to stand to be recognized though I wished otherwise. But the occasion was not about us and it did not really matter.)

What matters, as I contemplate about it, is that Momma and I are really getting old. When Sharon, our flower girl got married almost three years ago in May 2002, (now she and Bill, her husband, have a baby of their own), the thought did not really come up that strong. But I guess when the other half of the youngest of the team takes the vow, that’s when it hits harder. To be sure, this is not the first time that I have thought of becoming old – it probably is the millionth time – but thinking about it one more time is one more manifestation of its inevitability.

JBCA are not babies anymore. Our friends may look as old as we do but we refuse to see that. We also refuse to accept that we may have as many wrinkles as they have until we look into the mirror, and only then that the truth reveals itself. But still we tend to ignore what we see. As a matter of fact, I do not feel old at all. Maybe, that’s what really matters.

A final thought: in the comics page this morning, ("For Better Or For Worse"), the gramps said "It’s the lucky people who get to grow old. …. Some folks don’t get this far." Now that’s a good one. I hope to be even luckier with the years. Momma feels the same, I’m sure.