Too many birthdays?

So I’m sitting here having a cup of Joe at the Warm Puppy Cafe in Santa Rosa. From the large windows of the cafe, I can see the children learning to skate on the ice rink. A little man in a blue sweatshirt (he looks to be about 6 or 7 years old) catches my eye when he grimaces right in front of my window. Oh, I think. “That must have hurt.” Nope! This little guy has real courage. He gets up and starts skating again.

Intrigued, I follow him down the track and count seven knockdowns, seven lifts. Discouraged? Not that I could notice it. He is LIVING the old adage: “If at first you don’t succeed…” You know the rest. We all know the saying, but as we become “big” people, we find it harder to recover. Right?

I was thinking about that little boy the other day as I cautiously made my way to the ground to play with my 7-month-old granddaughter. I was smart enough to know in advance that I wouldn’t “bounce” again. But good complaint! I didn’t think it would be that much of a challenge.

The words of my own father in his later years floated back to me. “Too many birthdays” was the general description of his aging experience. Not a bad summary of a life line in the golden years, clean too and untarnished by four letter words.

But then again, those extra birthdays have given me so much more than aches and pains. My children have transformed before my eyes into warm and generous human beings. I would never have known them that way as adults, or as friends, or as children.

Then, to put the frosting on the cake, they married well and gave me a first-class son-in-law and a smart, loving daughter-in-law. Not to mention the indescribable fun and joy of four grandchildren.

These extra years have meant so much more to me than “too many birthdays.” I am grateful for every year that the good Lord has given me. The years have graced me with insights into life and love that I never would have had. Hey, if you live long enough, you have to learn SOMETHING.

So when the pains in my knees groan a bit as I pull the old bones off the floor to play with my granddaughter, don’t take my groans and groans too seriously. This old grandpa is having the time of his life.