Gratitude Ages Well

My parents are in surprisingly good shape given what they’ve been through. What they’ve been through is eight decades a piece (and dad can tack on a half-decade to that). I hope I navigate my senior years with as much grace and humor as they have. One of their secrets, besides having exceptional children, is gratitude. They get fussy now and then, of course, but that’s understandable. Lots of things hurt and those parts that aren’t in pain just don’t work near as efficiently as they used to. But in most of our conversations, they volunteer the many ways they’ve been blessed.

This morning, mom related their most recent reason for gratitude. They went to the grocery early Saturday to buy a newspaper. Mom reads a lot of the news online (and prints hard copies for dad), but they both like the feel of an old-fashioned paper. Plus there’s the coupons. They arrived at the automatic doors to enter the store about the same time two men were exiting.

Mom: “They were big old boys and rough looking. I mean rough, like they could hurt you if they wanted to. And they took up the whole door. Just big. And rough looking.”

Me: “Were they rough looking?”

Mom: “Real rough. Anyway, one of them stopped and handed me a card — like a gift card — and he said ‘That’s got nine dollars left on it. Spend it wisely.'”

Me: “He just handed you a gift card with nine dollars left on it? Why?”

Mom: “I don’t know! I guess they felt sorry for us. Your daddy was wearing his overalls and a pair of old work shoes and, Lord, I looked like the wrath of God. We probably reminded them of their grandparents since we’re old and I don’t weigh a hundred pounds. I bet they thought, ‘well, look at them poor old people – they need help.’”

Dad: “It’s a good thing they didn’t see us get out of that Lincoln or they might not have been so generous. I feel bad about it. I wish they would have given that to somebody who needed it.”

Mom: “Well, it made them feel good. Made me feel good, too. We bought a paper and some apples and some apple juice, because we’re trying out a new recipe, and we had 77 cents left over.”

Life is hard. You get old or sick or both. People let you down or forget to call or die. I don’t want to live in a pretend world of numb denial. Life is hard. But there are lots of things to be grateful for, too. Clouds are lined with silver and thorns are crowned with roses. Sometimes, out of the blue and for no reason at all, somebody hands you a nine dollar gift card and you end up .77 cents to the good. Or your aging parents brighten your day with a little humor and wisdom. Look for the good and, when you see it, be grateful. You’ll age more gracefully.