This is 35

A friend of mine recently moved to Germany to teach at an international school in Frankfurt. He told me, “So today I was introducing the unit on economic development to a class of 12th graders and I was talking about increases in life expectancy, income and life expectancy blah blah when a student mentions that she doesn't think increasing life expectancy in the developed world is such a great thing. She's worried about end of life issues, being a burden on society, etc. Suggesting she would rather end her life a little before she loses the joy of life... GREAT, I can get my geek on...let's talk about living wills, power of attorney docs, "kids you have to make adult decisions soon, blah blah" she mentions the cost of end-of-life decisions..."yeah class, you have to think about this stuff" then she closes with "I just don't see the point of living past 40." FORTY! I mentioned that I am well into my forties and maybe we could choose a different age...she allowed that 50, maybe ... maybe 60 (if you are in good shape) would be okay. Thanks.”

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I guess since I am only 35 I don’t have to worry about  young people euthanizing me, yet! It amazes me more and more how fast time is going. Sometimes I find myself thinking about ten years in the future as if I am just going to skip right there. Sometimes I find myself looking at the past in awe that something was 20 or 30 years ago and I was alive!

Overall I am feeling pretty fit. At all my doctor’s visits I always get the thumbs up and most of them commend me on a good diet (though they often tell me to drink a little less). Mentally I am at the top of my game and I don’t see that changing. Of course, I feel some of the aches of getting older. Things don’t heal as fast and I find I need more rest, especially after a long periods of physically demanding work or play. Thankfully Aya helps me with that, with nice weekends away, cakes, and beer. With her, I can get older, and moldier, together.