Getting Older

November Poem Day #9

Getting Older

Today’s the day for celebrating getting older.
Some people wonder why I am not supportive
of my own getting older.
Yes, my hair is grayer and thinner.
The cowlicks somehow have disappeared into thin hair.
Yes, I have issues with back pains and need
to stretch every morning before exercising.

Yes, when I eat, things stick more than they used to.
I used to be a buck sixty-five for years
and ate like a horse we used to have.
Yet, when the clock struck 40,
something happened to my weight,
and it seemed when I looked at food,
and it would stick. I was not happy about this.

My ice cream intake took a nose dive.
Carbonation went out years before that,
except for a root beer float once in a while.
I only eat butter on baked potatoes—
it’s a sacred Idaho thing.
I don’t eat a lot of red meat.
Chicken and fish seem to be the way to go.

I even have oatmeal on Tuesdays and Thursdays
with a heavy dose of craisins or dried cherries,
dried apples, and nuts. I don’t even add sugar,
just some yogurt and a drop of honey.
Sugary cereal has pretty much disappeared,
except for a snack every couple of months.
We even exercise almost every single day.

Yet, I continue to age and grow wrinkles.
I have concluded that aging isn’t that bad.
Look at the discounts! AARP is my friend!
People hold the door for you
or let you in line first.
They even say, “Oh, that’s soooo..cute”
when my wife and I hold hands.

I want to shout to them and to everyone,
“We have been holding hands
for 43+ years, and we still love it!”
So, I guess I will still celebrate my birthday
while eating another slice of homemade carrot cake
with cream cheese frosting,
which happens only once a year,

I promise.

 November 9, 2022