Will always remain in my heart

I have very pleasant yesteryear memories of being a young boy and also later as a teenager visiting my grandmother and spending time with her on a Saturday evening watching one of her favorite television programs, The Lawrence Welk Show.  

While younger folks may not have a clue about this classic and very popular weekly television program, most middle-aged people like me definitely remember it and likely with much fondness.

The Lawrence Welk Show was an American television musical variety show hosted by none other than Lawrence Welk.  He was a big band leader who ran a tight ship of delivering wholesome entertainment week after week that may best be described by those who remember him and his show as “wunnerful, wunnerful!”

America loved the Lawrence Welk Show as evidenced by it being on television for 31 years – from 1951 to 1971 live and then in first-run syndication for another dozen years from 1971 to 1982.

The show always ended during its syndication years with the same closing theme – Adios, Au Revoir, Auf Wiedersehen.  I can still see my grandmother sitting in her rocking chair ever so happy and relaxed while listening to this closing song with promises by Lawrence Welk that his show would be back next week.       

Here are the lyrics of this song and a video of it being sung at the end of the show:

Good night, good night until we meet again
Adios, au revoir, auf wiedersehen 'til then
And though it's always sweet sorrow to part
You know you'll always remain in my heart.

Good night, sleep tight and pleasant dreams to you
Here's a wish and a prayer that every dream comes true
And now 'til we meet again
Adios, au revoir, auf wiedersehen
Good Night!

Good night, sleep tight and pleasant dreams to you
Here's a wish and a prayer that every dream comes true
And now 'til we meet again
Adios, au revoir, auf wiedersehen
Good Night!

The lyrics of this song dance in my mind this evening which is my last day of being a quinquagenarian.  Tomorrow I’ll officially be a sexagenarian and, quite frankly, I’m looking forward to it.  I hope I make it and promise to live life to its fullest during this new decade of my life. 

But in a moment of middle-aged man reflection, as my quinquagenarian clock approaches midnight, there’s a certain melancholy resonating in my emotion about leaving the who I’ve been these past ten years in my gracefully aging journey. 

Yet one of the many things I’ve learned about myself these past ten years is how I resist change in a big time way but once change occurs, I’m amazingly resilient and embrace whatever new is now my present.

I hope this will be my experience tomorrow. 

Nonetheless, nostalgia strikes me as I compose my final quinquagenarian reflection, and the lyrics of Adios, Au Revoir, Auf Wiedersehen dance in my mind and heart as I reminisce. 

So as I prepare for bedtime, I’ll privately sing the first verse lyrics of this song to myself as I fondly remember the past ten years of my life.

Good night, good night until we meet again
Adios, au revoir, auf wiedersehen 'til then
And though it's always sweet sorrow to part
You know you'll always remain in my heart.

Yes, the past ten years of the life I’ve lived will always remain in my heart.

Pax Domini sit semper vobiscum

It wasn't that bad

Chris "Isorez" Rezny

Pierini Fitness is blessed to have Mr. Chris “Isorez” Rezny as today’s guest blogger. He’s a 50-year young middle-aged man cyberspace friend of the chief executive blogger.   

Chris resides in the Chicago area with his wife and two sons and pays the family bills working in corporate America as a sales manager.  To keep his middle-aged man body fit, Chris exercises using an eclectic approach including barbell weightlifting, calisthenics, "Isorez” isometrics and yes middle-aged man walking at a brisk pace.

His middle-aged man reflection today as a guest blogger shares his thoughts and feelings last year about this time.  Grab a chair, sit back, relax and enjoy what Chris has to share.

Last year about this time, I spent time reflecting that I would soon enter a new decade of life.  Then one day, I decided to take the rambling thoughts swarming in my mind about turning age 50 and capture them with written words for my down-the-road archival benefit.  

What follows is what I composed that day:

It’s coming . . .

As much as I have tried to convince myself it’s not true, I will be turning 50 this year.

So that means I’m still officially not 50 as I write this out but yes it lurks ominously around the corner.  But since I’m going to live to be over 100, I guess, I’m not really middle-aged yet?  Cool!

Reality check – yes I’m middle-aged and have probably fit that age bracket for the past few years.  I try to fool myself, like when I take a survey and check the box for 40-49 for my age and then privately crack a sly smile while patting myself on my back and thinking “Hot Dog!” at least I didn’t have to check the 50-59 age selection.

I don’t’ think there’s anything I’ll fear about turning the "BIG 5-0" but it still yanks on my brain and pulls on my heart.  Maybe I’ll creak more or walk a bit more bent over and memories might fade.

Man, I’ll officially be old. Me?  Nope, this can’t be!

Right now I’m struggling with different physical aspects.  One of them is that I have two high school athletes living under my roof that I lovingly refer to as my sons.  They’re both bigger than me!

The oldest one can put me over his head and bound up and down the stairs with me over his shoulders.  It’s a bit humiliating . . . but enjoyable all the same.

I’ve gotten used to being called “mister” and “sir” a long time ago just through youth coaching of baseball and football.  But now it happens in a store!

I’ve been asked if I need help “loading that” and this ticked me off; I kindly refused the assistance.  Then I remember when I was that young and probably would’ve asked the same question to an older man like me.

I do my best to keep in shape and structure workouts of resistance and cardio benefits at least four times a week if not more.  One of my favorites is when I focus on a good long walk at a brisk pace.

Six years ago I would never had thought that walking was a workout and at times my sons are ruthless in their side glance when I tell them what I did.  But the bottom line is I feel good and I don’t have pain afterwards. 

My one benefit is that I really don’t think I look “almost 50” and maybe I do look like a 16-year old kid when looking in my bathroom mirror like I know one person says he does.    I have the benefits of a smoother complexion thanks to my mother. 

Hey, I can pass for 48.  But do I look 50?  Heck no!  Do I turn heads?  Nope; I’m just being honest here.

However, this year’s "Turkey Bowl" football game with friends, and many more of my sons’ friends and their college age brothers, proved to be another telling point for me.  While I didn’t embarrass myself with four receptions and one touchdown pass thrown by “moi”, my knee hurt for three weeks afterwards from running and falling on the frozen ground. 

Yes sir – three weeks!  That there folks is called a “measuring stick”.  

I take a slight bit of pride that the amount of grown-ups dwindled as the game went on.  I hung in there with the kids but paid the price because my knee lingered in pain for three weeks afterwards before I could do a workout with lunges. That's enough of a tell-tale sign that my internal  honesty detector has been tripped.

I need to embrace it, look forward to it and find a high hill from which to shout.    

Hey I’m going to be 50!  Alright, did I just say that?  

Gee-whiz; what an embarrassing moment this is for an older guy.  Maybe I’ll just whisper it for now. Better yet, I’ll just keep it to myself for a while longer.

Almost a year has passed from when I composed the above.  I turned age 50 and embraced a new decade of life.   So I guess a postscript to what I composed a while ago is in order.

What can I now say about turning 50? 

I know!  It wasn't that bad. 

Pax Domini sit semper vobiscum

Staring at a blank sheet of paper

I was on a creative roll last month and composed three consecutive Sundays of cyber-published middle-aged man written reflections here at Pierini Fitness.  

Last evening, I sat down with my very best plans to compose another masterpiece and make in four in a row.

I wasn’t sure what I would create and seldom do I know when writing a new composition.   Thoughts just enter my mind and strings of words are seamlessly chosen at a lightning-fast pace, thanks to skills acquired over 40 years ago in a high school typing class. 

For the most part, the written reflections I compose are quickly done.   I’ve written, edited and posted some of my best stuff in 15 minutes or less.

But last evening that wasn’t the case.  I started with one composition and put a good 10 to 15 minutes into it before deciding that it was a bunch of nonsense; so I abandoned that effort and sat in mental silence about the nothing I had to show for my efforts.

After a few minutes, another idea came into my head so I went to work with what I thought would be a clever and great middle-aged man written reflection.  About five minutes later, I found myself feeling the same as I did earlier; not satisfied with what I was creating, considering it more garbage and then making another “business decision” to throw it overboard.  There I was again with nothing to show for my efforts.

That’s the way it is for those who are creative or strive to be.  We all get our turn visiting the dark side of creative dryness.  What I’ve learned when it’s my turn to experience it – after going through a pout session and maybe some despair – is how stars shine the brightest in the darkness of the night.

Yup, I realized that again last night when looking at my computer monitor and staring at a blank sheet of paper.

Pax Domini sit semper vobiscum