More about life at Three Score and Ten

Another malady that has manifested itself during my 70^th year is this ever increasing deposit of fat cells that seems to have settled-in just where I like to wear my belt.  If I have on pants with an elastic waist, there is little problem, but when I use a belt for either cosmetic purposes or functionality (to keep my pants up) it causes annoying pressure and discomfort until the belt is removed.  As a result of this, I’ve grown to love clothing with an elastic waist line.  I used to wonder why so many “old folks” wore sweats and jogging suits, but were seldom seen exercising or jogging.  Now, in my 70^th year, the truth has been revealed and I fully understand this common senior citizen fashion phenomenon.

 Five years ago I had a melanoma cancer removed from the backside of my neck.  My dermatologist apparently did a great job of removing the cancerous tissue because as of my 70^th year, it has not returned.  With cancer, five years and no return is a good thing.  On the other hand, that occurrence initiated the beginning of regular six-month visits to the dermatologist for a body check to monitor the lumps, bumps, and barnacles on various parts of my anatomy.  On these visits, almost without fail, there are spots that get cut off, frozen off or electronically zapped to squelch a pre-cancerous tissue before it can blossom into a problem spot.  All those youthful years of sun exposure which we thought made us have a healthy glow now bless us with age spots, blemishes and cancerous tissue.  As the Amish say, “We grow old too soon and smart too late.”  During these six-month exams, my petite Hawaiian-born dermatologist always gives a passing glance at my buttocks and with a sweet smile says, “That is the best looking skin on your whole body.”  I’m so glad I was never interested in becoming a nudist cause then I’d be having stuff zapped off my butt as well.

Speaking of lumps, several months ago I discovered a small lump under my right arm pit.  After pointing this lump out to my GP on an annual physical visit and his subsequent referral to a surgeon for a second opinion, I was scheduled for “day surgery” to remove this small lump.  The pathology report was good, noting only a glob of hardened fatty tissue with no signs of cancer.  Do you reckon that with all these lumps and bumps maybe there is something to this “three score and ten” thing after all?

My wife Becky reached seventy just a few months ahead of me.  She and I loved to take hikes and walks on a regular basis.  That is until she hit that seventy number.  Suddenly, her right knee began hurting; subsequent visits to the doctor, and a referral to an orthopedic clinic, led ultimately to arthroscopic surgery for a torn tendon.  Following the surgery and physical therapy the knee got worse.  This led to multiple injections of steroids and synovial substances, but nothing really fixed the knee.  After about a year of “try this or try that,” she ended up getting a total knee joint replacement.  The rehab has been painful and slow and now, about three months after surgery she is beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel.  Seems like this “three score and ten” thing may apply to women as well.

It is somewhat troublesome when I think about the patriarchs.  Old Moses, who led his people out of Egypt, didn’t have to worry about blood pressure meds, drug side effects or drug interactions and he lived to be 120.

One of my biggest adjustments to this “three score and ten” age milestone has been mental.  My “want to” attitude has been replaced by a “do I have to” attitude.  Practically all my life I was a “want to” kind of person.  Whether it was work, exercise, travel, learning, or just fun activities, I was always ready to “do it” and “wanted to” do it.  Suddenly, I find myself having to make a conscious decision “to do things” because they “have to” be done, not because I “want to” do them.  I don’t like this change of mentality, but it seems to go along with the changes taking place in my body.  Apparently, my body is talking to my brain.  I’ve heard some folks say, “You are as young as you think you are.”  Apparently their body has not been talking to their brain.

All of these changes in my body during and around this 70^th year have been a reminder that all the parts make up the whole person.    Mind, body and soul are not separate, but function in unity to make us a complete person. 

Speaking from personal experience, the Biblical “three score and ten” seems to apply to my body for sure.  My body is wearing out, showing that it is near the end of its time and approaching the time to “fly away.”    That second component, the mind, is also on the aging track as well.  That “gray matter” that is chocked full of neurons and synapses is a part of the physical body, so it makes sense that it will eventually wear out and lose its ability to function. 

That third component of my being, the soul, is sort of like a hitchhiker on this mortal body.  The soul of man is designed for eternity and will “fly away” when this earthly body ceases to function. I like the way the King James version of Genesis 2:7 describes how God added the “soul” to the man he had made.

And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul

I’ll have to admit that although I become a bit discouraged by some of the “pain and trouble” of the moment, I will keep-on-keeping-on, doing the best I can with this body, mind, and soul.  And, when I think deeply about the time left before I “fly away,” I need to focus on the important stuff of daily living, rather than being sidetracked by doubts, questions, and troublesome physical ailments.  This body of mine has crossed the threshold of the “three-score and ten” so I know what to expect.  Today’s TV commercials want me to believe there is eternal youth in this physical body, but I know that the truth is not in them.  The truth is very simple:  This physical body is time limited and it will expire, so …… “What does it profit a man if he gains the whole word and loses his soul?    (Mark 8:36)

Rambling thoughts by Phil