Third Floor Flat to a Single Story Home

Once again, a health issue caused me to be out of pocket for a length of time. I was in the hospital on Christmas Day last December, discharged on New Year’s Eve. I wrote about my aortic valve replacement a couple of years ago. This time I didn’t feel like writing about issues concerning my health. I didn’t even feel like talking about it.  Mainly because of the frustration during the hospital stay including the after effects on my body. Despite the fact most all go through something like this. The fact your body is breaking down after reaching certain ages is…still shocking. Even though we know, aging affects us all if we live long enough.

The kid, Superman, the Daredevil, Little Big man’s body is aging with each passing year. No…I’m not a daydreamer who think I or my body will stay young forever. Unrealistically, I still expect to perform normal tasks within at least 75 to 80 percent of my thirty-year-old efficiency. Frankly, that’s not happening these days. It’s not as bad as it sounds.  No, I’m not suddenly invalid.

While reminiscing, I go back to my family’s Milwaukee third Floor flat. Like most thirteen-year-olds of the day I dreamed of being an adult. Where would I work, who would I marry, what kind of car would I drive, and where would I live? And the biggie, how long would it take me to get rich. I read a lot, especially comic books and dreamed of who I would become as a grown man. At one point in my later teenage years, I couldn’t see me past twenty-one. Certainly not reaching thirty years old. That’s because I’d come to know “life in the fast lane.”

I remembered ten, twenty years ago, my wife and I wanted to live in a single-story house. We wanted the master bedroom to be upstairs. We loved the idea of a bedroom loft. Our kids were teenagers. The house built to our specifications would have the kids two bedrooms on the first floor.

We’re used to having a basement in Milwaukee. A room where you can place a pool table or as it now is called, a “Man-cave.” In northern California that room to would have to be on the first floor. I was still dreaming of comfort but becoming rich was pretty much out of the question.

Nowadays, I think about that single-story home large enough for a den or man-cave, including a lady sewing or lounging room. Our primary interest in the single-story is security and comfort. I would still like to have a pool table. I can say we have all in one format or another san the pool table. So, we are comfortable.

Nowhere in that entire scenario did I mention old age. Young folk don’t think about their body parts aging. Oh, they may mention it as in somebody is just old. However, there is no real accounting for us getting old. Could it be that it is an unpleasant subject? We need to embrace the aging process because the alternative is pushing up daisies, not a pleasant thought. Again, the question is when do we account for that certainty?

By the time most of us give it serious thought we are already on the doorstep of old age. Normally to late to plan for it. More importantly, we are not mentally prepared for it. Or am I wrong…and you are?

It is time we should look forward to, not dreading…like…here comes the funeral. Like most Baby Boomers I’m still having a great time doing our thing past the age of sixty-five or some other retirement age. The problem is you cannot get around those unexpected health issues. That’s when you begin to really think about your mortality. Sadly, that’s also when you lose more old friends and favorite relatives to aging issues. We miss those relationships more and more, especially the ability to conversate about the state of whatever.

Some of us like to think we will be turning flips well into senior years. Wrong…if we do, it will be a rarity. We may not be able to be as efficient at them as we once were during our younger days.  We can also find happiness spending our time at familiar or new activities. Not to forget the invaluable time we can now spend with other family and friends.          

Peace & Blessing, stay vigilant for our American rights. Make it a day in which Jesus Christ would be proud of you,

Codis Hampton II                                                                                          

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We are in a continuing effort to publicize my book, Gracie Hall-Hampton, the Arkansas Years 1917-1953. Based on the life of my Grandmother. The Novel examines an era of Jim Crow that many in our society may have forgotten occurred against people of color. Meanwhile, we celebrate the publication of my latest and fifth book, Misguided Intentions. A book where family relationships questioned to the core. Read the books review at https://redheadedbooklover.com/gracie-hall-hampton-codis-hampton-ii/  Click on the publisher-Authors page at https://outskirtspress.com/MisguidedIntentions   

Get any of my books by visiting my Amazon.com Authors page at http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B017TYFKBI?ref_=pe_1724030_132998070

Look for new books, updates of current titles, and submission of short articles to major magazines upcoming in 2019. We love to pass on our written word. – Hamp

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Copyright 2011 Codis Hampton II, all rights reserved. A bi-weekly blog for your enjoyment

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