Continued from previous post...

I have written a bit about my mother-in-law who is sixty-eight and always on the go. When we last visited with her during the Thanksgiving holiday, my husband and I both noticed ever so subtle signs that she is aging. Nothing alarming, just simple things that are heralding the aging process for her particular body. Arthritis. Stiffness. Decreased flexibility and balance. Other little things. I think we were both caught a little off guard because I don't know a woman walking who is more health conscious than my mother-in-law. She still exercises moderately and does careful stretching and balancing exercises. Such a neat woman, my mother-in-law.

When I first met Mom she was fifty-three years old; just a couple of years older than I am now. She began each day at the crack of dawn with a brisk walk of at least five miles, more if she had time to fit it in before tackling the rest of her very busy day. Sometimes she would walk twice a day. She has always been a health fanatic and has the healthiest eating habits of anyone I know. Nutrition and supplements and cooking healthy meals are a hobby to her. A passion.

As I always do when visiting with her, I inquired about Mom's health and how she was feeling. She commented that she was getting older and having to slow down a bit becaue she just couldn't do what she used to do. She had been to the doctor about a couple of minor physical complaints that were resolved easily enough. She didn't seem particularly bothered by any of this because in comparison to some women in her age group she is still very active and in very good health. I guess it is all relative, huh?

Do any of us ever really expect to be old one day? I just returned from one of the most wonderful Thanksgiving holidays that I have ever had after spending a week on the beach with my family and my husband's extended family. Thanks to Michelle's weight off challenge and to my own recent push to increase my physical activity, diet, and improve my overall fitness level, I am proud to say that I ripped and ran and kept up with the best of them on the beach and in the swimming pool. I had an absolute blast with my kids and my husband.

Surprisingly, i didn't even feel too beat up afterwards. Although, I did struggle with keeping a really bad cold at bay right after we returned. In fact, I'm still trying to beat it back. Gasp! Could that be a subtle sign of aging??? Probably not. More likely to be a not so subtle sign of running myself ragged in the name of having a good time.

In my mind, I will always be able to carry on like I did last week at the beach, with equal intensity. Maybe the reality check on the aging process is influenced by your personal experience with watching your own parents age. In my own experience it seemed like one day my mother was young, healthy, beautiful, vibrant; the next day she was sick and old; and the next day, she was dead. It was a little different with my father, he died after a protracted illness so I did see him age considerably over a longer period of time.

I have friends that I have known for thirty years and along with them, I have watched their parents age. Some have been more fortunate than others in terms of the impact of the aging process. But for all of them, the passing years are beginning to leave their mark. Are the passing years beginning to leave their mark on me and I just don't realize it yet? Surely that doesn't happen overnight. But at what point will it become obvious for me personally, that I am old? If I'm still blogging, I'll let ya know!