Aging…maturing…growing older changes you—in some ways for the better and in some ways not.
I will never be as physically resilient in my sixties as I was in my teens.
I worked every day after school for the local butcher and then weekends at the bagel shop two doors over.
I worked from 6 to midnight on Saturday night and 5AM to 2PM on Sunday. My work commitments were tucked in between schoolwork and my first love—music and the hours of practice each day.
I can’t say sleep was at the top of my list and I certainly never turned down an order of French fries with a cheeseburger. This schedule continued through high school with no complaint—my attitude was ‘bring it…no problemo’.
Spanish class was a different story. I listened to the teacher trying to force grammar rules down my throat or into my brain. Rules that made no sense and for which no satisfying explanation was provided.
For example, “calle” is the Spanish word for ‘street’; “boligrafo” is the word for ‘pen’. But for some reason, “calle” is proceeded with the feminine article “la” while “boligrafo” the masculine “el”. Why? WHY? WWWHHHYYYY???? Rather than accept this and move on, I shut down and let’s just say my high school experience with Spanish was less than stellar.
Today, I don’t have the stamina to go full out seven days a week. I monitor my endurance and balance my activities so as not to run down. I must be mindful to get necessary sleep, exercise and eat appropriately to keep myself healthy.
Today, I completed my 66th day in a row learning Spanish on Duolingo and guess what? The eccentricities of Spanish grammar don’t bother me at all. I believe acceptance is necessary to find peace and contentment.
That doesn’t mean you must be content with things you can change and improve. But stuff you can’t? Get over it and focus on making a difference in ways you can.
Es lo que es (It is what it is).
