On Being Called A Fossil

I was driving down the road listening to a song the other day. I thought it was a Rolling Stones song, but I wasn't sure of the title, so I glanced down at the radio screen. It said "oldies", and I remember thinking, no, that can't be right. That's not an oldie. It's only a few years old. Now I know the fact that it was a Rolling Stones song should have tipped me off, because anytime your lead singer is their 60's, you know there probably haven't been many recent hits. But it wasn't until I remembered the first time I had heard it that I realized that it was indeed an oldie....



Later that night, The Husband and I were watching the Little league World Series, and he suddenly said "Did you just see Bucky Dent?" I had missed him, because I was half- watching and half -reading. "No, why?" ..."Well, do you remember him? Do you know what he looked like?" ..."Of course. Bucky Dent. The Yankees...nice looking guy, black hair..." The Husband laughed. "Well, not any more. Totally gray. A little paunchy." ..I got on my laptop and did a search...and sure enough, there was Bucky Dent in all of his middle-age glory. The Husband and I just shook our heads. "I think we're getting old", I said.



So when I turned on my computer yesterday morning and saw the little message that The Bother-in-Law had left for me on facebook, I guess I wasn't that surprised. I had used a quote from the old movie Love Story in the previous day's blog title, and he was chastising me, saying that I needed to be quoting more updated movies...that (and I quote) "only old fossils like you and me can quote that old movie".......Ok, in my defense, I was a little girl when that movie came out. I don't think I ever saw the whole movie...although I did play the theme song on the piano in one of my piano recitals...but I always thought the quote was sweet. I've quoted lots of movies in the blog...Forrest Gump...Is that considered an "oldie" now? And what about "You've Got Mail"? Is that an oldie? I don't know...and honestly, a good quote stands the test of time.



A little later, I did my morning yoga routine...a 30 minute show that I do daily. This particular day, the narrator stressed that these were "extremely challenging poses". Well, when I finished, I was feeling pretty darn proud of myself...when suddenly I had a flashback of swimming several miles a day as a 10 year old. Then playing tennis for hours a day as a teenager. In my twenties, I did aerobics, played raquetball, and did Jane Fonda's workout religiously when I was pregnant. Even my thirties were spent running and doing weights...and post pregnancies, I sweated through Cindy Crawford's pregnancy recovery tapes. ...so you see....all of a sudden, finishing my 30 minute yoga didn't seem so amazing. Ok, I reminded myself, I do walk/jog most evenings for a few miles...but even that is more for peace of mind....the word 'fossil' kept running through my mind...



The Boy says to me on occasion, "I just want to freeze you the way you are now." Funny, that's exactly how I feel about him. But it doesn't work that way, does it? Life rolls on...and I suppose the key is to roll with it...Our looks, lives and abilities change, but the meaning doesn't have to, does it? At the end of her life, my mom was in poor physical shape. She was experiencing dementia. She wasn't able to do get around much or remember much. But none of that mattered to me. I would give anything to have her back...just like that...for even an hour. Because it was her spirit and love that counted...not how far she could walk or how many movies she could quote...

So tomorrow, I'll continue to hum Rolling Stones songs, quote old movies, and do my yoga...and enjoy it...knowing that being an "old fossil" is ok...