Aging Bodies: Finding Humor and Grace in Our Imperfections

Last updated on: September 9, 2024 at 10:37 am by Mark Williams

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Aging Bodies: Finding Humor and Grace in Our Imperfections 2024-09-09T10:37:09-07:00 Mark Williams

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WHERE DID THEY GO?

WAIT A MINUTE! WHEREDIDMYEARSGO?

Okay, I get the idea as we get older, we well, change. I get that. But I have no ears. From this angle, there is nothing there. Like they fell off or something. I even looked in the sheets of my bed thinking they might be there-nope. Not under the bed either or under the front seat of my car.

I noticed it some time ago. I was told ‘hey, you know from a straight on look-you have no ears.’ On top of that, my face is oval. Like an ellipse. You know, the thing you use in math. My head acts as part of a math equation gone bad.

…my body has changed.

Over the years, what am I saying, over the DECADES my body has changed. I don’t think I’m telling you anything you people don’t know. Unless you’re one of those people who has the 4% body fat, full head of hair, straight teeth with less than two cavities by the time your 55, and no hammer toes, this is written for you.

I think, as we get older, the effect of this planet just simply takes a toll on us. I mean, why do we need hair IN our ears? What happens if we can’t get that piece of pot roast out from between our teeth because we don’t have dental floss? Who told us EVER we needed to stock our house with dental floss? No one that’s who. Pots and pans, yes. You got to cook or boil water in something, but dental floss? My parents always used the paper receipt from the fast-food place and after they ate, they folded that puppy in half and shoved it in one side and that pot roast used in the breakfast burrito came right out. But why do we lose hair, gain weight, get that hitch in our getta-long or misplace our EARS?

God didn’t make a mistake. He just didn’t.

It’s the effect of living on a planet that, well, frankly, is infected. It’s been infected for a long time. And that infection just keeps growing.

…more serious items….

We add to the mundane stuff like I mentioned to the list of more serious items like cancer, broken hearts and minds, poverty, and all of a sudden, the missing ears with hair in them isn’t such a bad trade off. After a while, it looks cute so I have been told. That’s just what a middle aged anyone wants, is to have no ears and uncontrolled growth of stuff to be cute.

Sometimes, well maybe more than sometime, we get sad or even depressed the way we ‘look.’ I get that. What do we see on TV or at the movies, sporting events, etc? We see the advertisement for beauty. God help us if we became a famous actor or actress or performer of some type and then fall off the grid for a while, let life cook ya for a bit, then someone takes your picture walking into a Walgreens after you cut the lawn in the summer and post it on a social media account next to the body you had thirty years before. I think we have all thought of the ‘what if’s’ and the ‘maybe’s.’ So, we go back to the gym and reduce our diet to 400 calories a day eating dried kale and warm water.

And Dad just shakes His head.

He adores us.

He adores us. I mean, He loves us just the way we are. We run yet, do not have perfect bodies. These shells raided by the infection. But we do have perfect bodies waiting for us. This is just a shell we use while we’re here. We need hands to hold stuff and feet to walk on the ground with. None of this stuff is needed later when we go home. So, it’s like a bike with training wheels (don’t judge me by my metaphor). Sit back and relax.

Apparently, some of us with our issues are called ‘cute.’

About – Inside Our Gooey Minds (patheos.com)

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About Mark Williams

Mark Williams spent the first twenty-one years of his career as a Special Agent for the Organized Crime Division of the State Attorney General’s Office. As part of his duties, he investigated organized crime, homicides, and fraud cases submitted by other agencies to that office. He has traveled across the United States as an instructor for law enforcement in various capacities. After he retired, he became a high school English teacher at an inner-city school in central Phoenix where he is the fourth generation in his family to live in the valley. Mark was married for almost thirty-eight years and is a retired widower. He has three children and ten grandchildren. You can read more about the author here.

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