Growing Up by Jeff Cinquemani

The last few months for me have been painful to say the least. However, though the physical pain is centered in my back with a herniated disc, the real pain is in my "psyche". To now have to "sit on the sidelines," so to speak, while others are actively involved in sports or recreations is just not me. And, though my wife may not entirely believe me, it truly does pain me to have her lifting the water jugs while I stand and watch.

It’s well over a year now since I've turned 50, and during that time I had one of my physician friends tell me that I now will have to exercise twice as hard just to maintain my current stamina and strength. He said that everyday cells are deteriorating faster than they are building, and if that wasn't bad enough, I also found out that – with 50 – there comes a slower recovery time after exhaustion, a quicker fatigue time during exertion, and of course, a longer time to heal after any kind of set-back.

Talk about depressing! Well, I thought I would do a little investigating on my own, and sure enough, it really is depressing. Statistics show that, the closer you get to the "50 mark", the higher the rate of depression among both men and women. Now it was obvious that I was not the only one who researched this statistic. Everywhere I looked on the Internet were companies all targeting their ads at me with products, procedures, and programs all promising me a better, newer, healthier "me".

Wow! How engrossing this could get. I mean with enough money and a little help from my friends, I could actually turn back time – well at least make it look like it for a while.

And that is where I stopped. I thought, Wait a minute. If 50 is the proverbial mark that someone has finally grown up, then maybe I should. Maybe there's a really good thing about turning 50. Maybe that is where I stop worrying about me "growing up" and start focusing on something else for a change. What if I turned my attention from my adventure to someone else's? What if I thought first about someone else's prosperity and preservation instead of my own? And what if I looked first at how my experience could help others instead of making it my excuse for entitlement.

I told my wife a while ago, “Look, if all I talk about when I get old is my "regularity", my medications, and my ailments, then just shoot me.” Well, she hasn't bought a gun yet, but you can bet I'm still gonna get this back taken care of before she signs up for target practice.

Jeff Cinquemani