30 Year Old Grandad

I worry about a lot of things, but growing old is not one of them. Since I hit the age of about 20, I've liked the idea of being an old man, and have looked forward to it. When I think about my future, for some reason I rarely think about the middle years, but instead chapter skip until I am about 70.

There is a lot to like about the elderly man. They take care of their appearance, and always wear nicely ironed trousers. They are not afraid of cardigans, or of wearing a shirt around the house. They don't wear shorts, t-shirts or sneakers, but always opt for a strong, sensible shoe, or a comfortable slipper.

They like to sit around a lot in a particular arm chair, and read, and don't feel the need to do more than they have to. They may go to 'town' once a month, but the rest of the time are content to potter around their own house and yard, taking pride in a good garden, and a nicely mown lawn. Some even have a lolly jar beside their chair, that is reserved only for them, filled with jaffas, raspberries and broken up squares of a Cadbury block. Sometimes they will drape a blanket over their knees if it is cold.

Actually most of these traits describe one of my Grandad's. He left me his armchair when he died, and it sits proudly in our lounge room. I tried to start up a lolly jar to put beside it, but E could not grasp the idea of it being exclusively for me, so I have temporarily given that away. That is another good thing about the elderly man-- they feel no inclination to share, and don't feel bad about it.

I am also not at all afraid of going grey. I currently have a little patch of about 17 white hairs at the front, and a few around my temples, but I look forward to it taking hold properly. (Going bald is a different matter, but I think I am fairly safe there for the time being.) So here's to the future, and those quiet twilight years, when life is small and manageable.