by Alan Duly

Created on: October 24, 2008

7/14/08

The Old Man

The old man sat ruminating as close to the fireplace as he could stand without burning himself. His tired old body trying to absorb as much heat as he could to help chase away that numbing cold that he could no longer fight off these days, in spite of his Daughter's reassurances that the house was really quite warm. As he gazed into the flames, he could see little figures dancing around as he had done so many years ago when he was a small boy growing up.

As he sat there musing in the cheery glow, his Grandchildren burst into his reveries with their joyful shouts of joy at the anticipation of the wonderful things to come and with great smiles on their faces at seeing the Christmas tree being slowly and lovingly decorated by their Mother.

It gave the old man such pleasure to see and to be a part of the domestic bliss all around him and to know that not only was he remembered and cherished, but also given a warm place in the heart of his family. It cheered him and kept him focused every day by knowing and appreciating the infinite value that family love bestows on everyone involved, from the youngest to the oldest.

Perhaps it was the youngest of his Granddaughters who had the closest relationship with him and that was strange to him in many ways, but he thought that perhaps she recognized a kindred spirit in his simple unhurried and uncluttered way of life and she loved his endless patience that he always found to talk to her and to tell her so many stories, something he remembered with a small pang of regret that he had not had with his own children when they were young. The older children loved him too, but in a different way and besides, he thought, they often had so many other things to do, especially homework and other activities, which for a teenager was very normal and a very important part of the process of growing up.

Yes, in his dotage, he was very content, and had given up the useless fight to stay young and to try to be someone that he wasn't. He had accepted that getting old, and even facing death, was a normal part of life. He thought it was much better to embrace it and to take advantage of the few benefits it had, and to make the most of the unique part it played in role of life.

His thoughts drifted to his earlier life and he was comforted by the fact that he would never again have to experience the agonies of adolescent love with its bitter disappointments. No more to worry about the stability of his job and the need to be the breadwinner

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