I'm old

From http://brickellmensproducts.com/blogs/grooming-manual/66267203-top-5-anti-aging-tips-for-men

I was originally going to write about the football successes of the weekend. It was a good weekend for "my" teams. Obviously, the Vikings and Minnesota Gophers have a larger stage and it was good to see them win. It was exciting for me to see the Hamline Pipers get their first win over Gustavus Adolphus since 2005 and for the Champlin Park Rebels to beat the Blaine Bengals. 

Instead of attempting analyst detail on these games I think I'll go another way. I'm realizing I'm dwelling on something from week 1 of the football season. It was a fact an announcer said and it put who I am in perspective. The oldest offensive lineman in the NFL is 35! That is younger than me (by 3 years at this writing). I don't think this was really the stuff of mid-life crisis generating profoundness. I already know 40 is a matter of months away for me and have had to square with a number of realities:

• It's time to curb the "I could go pro" thoughts for sports. I'm even past-prime for an elite pro-golfer (Jordan Speith is 23!).
• Rock stardom likely isn't happening.
• I'm a full-fledged adult. This requires a lot of "adulting" in the forms of paying bills, doing laundry and keeping-up a household.

Obviously this is a silly and small list. 40-ish isn't nearly as old as it used to be and there is a lot of life to be had. There's just a transition where we all think and dream about what we want to do with our lives when we "grow up" to actually living our lives to the rhythm of the perpetually ticking clock. The reality is while our pinnacle of physical prowess is slowly moving on we really can enjoy life and activity to our heart's content. I get to:

• Yell at the TV when the Vikings are playing. Albeit I'm usually cleaning or doing laundry while it's happening.
• Be a professional in what I'm actually good at and realize that I offer something potentially more valuable than entertainment.
• Enjoy my mornings with a cup of coffee and a newspaper, or writing if I like.
• Feel progressively less concerned about putting myself "out there" in the forms of opinions, beliefs and creativity. This is partially the reason I decided to put this blog out there a little more. NOTE: Yes I still dream of rock stardom, but it's fun just to record and put occasional things on YouTube.
• Shepherd my kids along the way and give them opportunities to grow and learn. They're even at a good age where they'll listen to my experiences and take a little bit of help. I'm starting to trust that I can even "let go" a little bit and let them figure a lot of things out on their own.

Indeed, we're getting older. But so what! There's a lot of life to be had.