Meet my middle aged husband

I have what I consider the greatest husband in the world.  We have literally grown up together, having first met in Mrs. Tupper's kindergarten class at Elwood Haynes Elementary school.  Of my 40 years on this earth, I have been either dating or married to Dan for twenty seven of them.  That is a long time!  

Over the course of this lifetime together, he and I have changed in practically every way possible.  We went from being boy and girl to man and woman.  From young and free to married with children.  From living for the moment to making a whole life together.  The transitions have not always been easy.  Growing pains are an inevitable part of any maturing process.  But as we find ourselves firmly entrenched in our middle ages, I see my husband fighting it much harder than I.

With all his might, Dan is battling to stave off getting older.  However, no matter how he tries, the war is getting harder and harder to win.  Used to be, he could play basketball for hours on end and give just about anyone a run for their money on the court.  He claims he still can hang with the big boys.  The only difference is the big boys can still walk upright the next morning.  He loves to point out the gray hairs I have, insisting he has none of his own.  But his gray hairs are just choosing to sprout out his ears and nose instead of his head.  At least I can color mine!


For this man who has been living in sheer and utter denial, this week was a tough one.  Something happened that made my husband come smack dab face to face with just how middle aged he really is.  While getting his routine annual eye exam, the doctor gave him two pieces of not so pleasant news.  First off, he needs progressive lenses.  Back in the day, those were known as bifocals.  And while the technology has come a long way, the reason for needing it hasn't.  Old eyes.  Now Dan tried to deny that, but let's face it, there aren't too many twenty years olds who need progressive lenses. 


And that wasn't the worst of it.  The doctor also told my husband his high blood pressure was going to have to be addressed.  Dan generally avoids our family doctor at all costs.  It isn't that he doesn't like her.  He does.  The problem is that every time he goes in, she finds something wrong with him.  And this time, he already knew what that something was going to be.  Nonetheless, he had no choice so it was off to the doctor he went.  And he was none too happy to come back home with a daily medication to take. He said, for the first time ever, "I am getting old."  


Somehow this little pink pill was able to do what nothing else had to this point...push Dan over the hill.  He is becoming painfully aware that no matter what he does, the middle ages will have their way.  It doesn't mean that he's giving up the fight.  Knowing him, he'll deny he's old even when his teeth are in a cup and our grandkids are in college.  But rest assured, I'll always be here to gently remind him that he isn't getting any younger either.