Time - My Least Favorite 4 Letter Word

So yeah, went a little nuts in these age threads yesterday. They just struck a nerve on several levels. Turn 40, no big deal, keep on doing the shit I have been for 25 yrs. Turn 50, meh, what's all the hooplah, had to get glasses to pass drivers license test, whatever, lots of people younger have them. Big deal, keep on with all the stuff I've been into for 35 yrs. Stuff going on turning our country into the shithole people have been coming here to escape is chappin my ass and concerned about what it'll be for my grown kids. Government pissin me off being more concerned about shit around the world and lettin people in and giving away benefits that actual citizens deserve and all that. Still, you forge on, go to work every day, pay your way, put somethin aside for later & play hard when you have the time. Just keep goin, yeah. Then, you get a phone call that makes you feel like you just got 30 yrs older in 30 seconds........I'm gonna be a grandparent. For some reason this was much more shocking then finding out I was gonna be a parent. All the stuff about actually being "old" just all came rushin in. Crazy, still not feelin it, no, denial denial denial, I'll never be old. But reality is that time & the circle of life will smack everyone about no matter how much you try to put it off or ignore it and there's nothing you can do about it except try to come to accept it and make the best of it. So that's where I'm at, trying to come to grips with it. That being said, I don't like to see threads that divide TW like AC vs. DC vs. RC..they are all Tacomas. I don't care for the age threads because they generally lead us in a divisive direction and are really silly since time will catch everyone eventually and there is no escape. So all that age thread shit just hit me wrong in the midst of this other wonderful lifechanging thing that was tweaking my melon. This will serve as my public apology and those with ruffled feathers can say what they want, think what they want, ignore what they want but the facts are you will become the same thing you talk shit about and think will never happen to you....if you're lucky enough to not be caught by natural selection, kinda like the Ryan guy off Jackass. Live it up, in moderation & live to tell about it. I'm not done, this is just halftime. I'll still be jammin the trails on bikes, and truck, surfing it up, paddlin my ass off in the kayaks, buggin the wife just like I'm still 18, doin the stuff I've been enjoying for 50 yrs that keeps me from being what everyone fears becoming...old. I'm still doing all the stuff that the youngstas hope they'll be able to do when they get this "old". So just be over it and TW brethren unite.

Now for the new....first pic of the granddaughter.




Family baby naming discussion has now commenced.............

 

Congrats....

Grandpa

 

congrats old man

 

Congrats man. Don't sweat the age threads .. they're actually all one big fun joke .. totally tongue in cheek.

Someone started a RIP Clarence Clemons thread, and soon enough it became a reminiscence by guys old enough to know who Clarence Clemons actually is. A few of us made "old guy thread" comments, and soon enough there was one. But it wasn't meant so much to exclude anyone as just a place to reminisce. Soon enough there were 30+ and 20+ threads. But it all seems lighthearted.

I get the "time" thing though, brother. When you're 20, 40 or 50 seems like a million years off. Then you turn 40 or 50, and looking back it all seems like a literal blink of an eye .. like just yesterday we graduated from high school or college or got married or had our first kid. And now all of a sudden, here we are. Friends aren't getting married .. they're getting divorced. Or having heart attacks. Or midlife crises. We feel no different, but now it's prostate exams and cancer screenings. And the whole "grandparent" thing hits like a ton of bricks.

Last year was the toughest year of my life, not because I turned 40, but because leading up to 40, I watched the disintegration of 7 of my friend's marriages. And my brother committed suicide just short of his 41st. It builds and builds. And the thing is, we all go there. We all end up with these war stories and regrets over lost youth .. wondering where the hell it all went.

But you know, I also know I'd never trade 40 for 20. Sure, if I could go back knowing what I NOW know, it'd be great. But it doesn't work that way. And I wouldn't want to go back to the 20 year old I was. Life is better now. Shorter, maybe. But better .. maybe because it's shorter. Maybe because I know that any day now I could get that call about parents passing. Or a friend's cancer. Or any number of other things we start seeing more and more as we age. And it makes me appreciate all those people in my life that much more.

We all go there. No one walks alone. Anyway, just some of my own thoughts on a very interesting thread.

 

Much truth in your thread, although I think I got old just reading it. haha
I am also concerned about the state of this nation and the lousy leadership currently in office, but ultimately put my trust in my faith and do what small things I can to make my little part of this world better. As far as aging, I know Im gettin older but I ABSOLUTELY REFUSE TO GET OLD and Im goin down swingin, right to the very end.
Congrats on the new grandchild, may you be blessed with more !!

 

Thanks folks. Let's just start with the one tho, lol. Need to come up with my name too. Was daddio to the kids so was I gonna go with pappio to the grandkids but not so sure now. Still beats peepaw tho.

 

best of luck to ya its a great feeling enjoy