Age

Last night someone mentioned the first time he met me he thought my age was a typo...he had seen my online profile. It wasn't because I looked older/younger than my stated age, it was because of what I was "doing". In this particular case I was LARPing.  


LARP: A role-playing game in which the participants assume the roles of fictional characters. Participants determine the actions of their characters based on their characterization, and the actions succeed or fail according to a formal system of rules and guidelines. Within the rules, players have the freedom to improvise; their choices shape the direction and outcome of the game. There is a variety of role-playing game in which players perform their character's physical actions, known as live action role-playing games.  


He, as a few others have been, were amazed that an "older" person was playing.  


Why?  


Why is it that people assume that as we get older we must give up (or not become involved) in things we enjoy? Yes, I am a little slower than I used to be...but I can still outrun some of those young pups. Actually, I wasn't much of a runner, even as a kid.  


I hear women say they are getting too old for long hair. I don't understand this at all. I can understand if you don't want to mess with it, or if it is unattractive...but what does age have to do with it?  Are little girls too young for short hair?


I watched my parents spend their lives working, watching TV and sleeping. They seldom did anything for fun...especially once I moved out. They always seemed tired. Yes, I am tired too. I work long stressful hours...but I think I should be rewarded for my efforts. I go to work so I can afford to play. I can't always afford a long vacation to a tropical local, but I can afford dinner with friends, an occasional movie...and every so often an escape from reality.  


I have this fear that it I slow down, if I stop moving, I won't be able to get going again. I prod myself sometimes, even when I don't feel like it...when vegging on the couch seems like a perfectly acceptable alternative. And yes, sometimes I do allow myself a lazy day...day, one. My body does not accept more, unless I am sick. There seems to be a perpetual motor that requires winding...insists on motion, nagging at every fiber of my being.  


Maybe, one day, I will forced to slow down...if I live that long. But in the mean time, I will pursue life, not just let the time trickle through my fingers unheeded.  


Go to the park today and find a swing. Turn your face up to the sun, see how high you can go and laugh with pure pleasure. You may be amazed by how good it feels.