It was fun while it lasted

Gracefully aging is not always a smooth trip and in its journey we sometime hit a rough spot on the road that leaves our car of life with a few dings.  That’s been my recent discovery after spending some time this past year looking in the mirror.

These views are not the familiar front-facing ones that never disappoint and always please me with illusory images in my mind’s eye of my 16-year old kid alter ego.  Instead, they are rear and top views using a hand-held mirror with my backside facing the larger bathroom mirror.

And what am I seeing from these vantage points?  I’m seeing a middle-aged man who is losing hair on the top of his head.  It’s not very visible to most but nonetheless it’s a biological commotion in motion.  I wouldn’t go so far to say that I’m going bald; that’s too drastic of a statement yet, but it’s fair to say – and read my lips – “My hair is thinning and I’m losing hair.”  "Yikes!", yells this distressed middle-aged man.

It wasn't that long ago that, as a newbie middle-aged man, I sported a mullet badge of honor just for kicks. While never topically-endowed like the late great Freddy Fender by any stretch of my imagination, I wore an eccentric mullet royal crown that brought me much newbie middle-aged man satisfaction.

But that was then and this is now and despite my best efforts of being in denial and talking myself out of what’s happening, I must confess that my hair is thinning and I’m losing my hair.  Where will it all end?

Will I be the next Yul Bryner, ready for a leading actor role in a 21^st century remake of “The King and I”?  Or maybe I’ll be qualified as a 21^st century version of the television ad character known as “Mr. Clean”.

The opportunities are endless proving that there are blessings to be found in the crosses we carry.  This whole experience may not be like stepping on dog poop but rather finding my next diamond in the rough.  The ball is in my court and it’s up to me to make the best of it.  I truly believe that in the darkness of the night the stars shine the brightest.

I’m ready to go with the flow, to be content with the biological deck of cards that God has dealt me, and to find goodness and gratefulness in all the other things going on in my health and wellness journey.    

The best way to sum up my thoughts about my disappearing thick head of hair is to say that it was fun while it lasted.

Pax Domini sit semper vobiscum