Over The Hill

I am in my mid 40's. In a lot of ways that really isn't all that old. But at the same time I am starting to feel the effects of age. My wife will keep telling me that I am not all that old. I remind that it isn't the age but the mileage that is getting to me.

I do find myself moving down the road of many men before me. I want to do things that say I am NOT old. I play basketball 3 times a week with a group of men that are anywhere from there mid 20's to their 70's. It makes for a very interesting game. I was not blessed with athletic ability and had never played basketball until about 9 years ago when I started playing with this group. Some of the players change from year to year. But the game never changes.

I am not sure what it is about the game but I find myself unable to give it up. The first year I played I almost lost a finger. I was back in about 6 weeks with my finger taped up playing again. This allows me to test my 'mettle'. I didn't really realize how important this is to the male of our species until I found my then 5 year old son repeatedly jumping off of his bunk bed. Of course, my wife freaked out. I asked him why he 'needed' to do that. He said, "I don't know". I later realized he was testing his 'mettle'. He needed to prove that he could do it.

So, my son repeated tries to prove that he is growing up and getting older while I try and do just the opposite. I have no doubt that my wife wishes we would both just act our ages but I don't think that is possible.