Believe me when I tell you that I have been called a LOT of things and "crazy" is right up there at the top of the list. When I was young and "crazy" that was a good thing, Nothing like a boring 20 year old who wouldn't do anything. I figured out early on that life was meant to be lived to the fullest while staying within the boundaries of the law and common sense. The older I get it is harder to remain "foot loose and fancy free" and "crazy" without the very real possibility that one of my kids will have me committed. But I do my very best to enjoy life while reminding myself I am NOT 20 any longer.
Things like riding a bike are no longer part of my life. Just recently I did try to ride my grand daughter's bike and was so sure I was going to crash and die that once I got back to her house I literally fell off the bike and said, "no thank you" to ever riding again. I see "older" folks in my community riding around like it is nothing but alas, that will not be me. So much for that type of crazy. Likewise, you will not find me ice skating or roller skating . . . both of which I did as a child and both of which I LOVED ! Now all I see when I look at a pair of skates is a trip to the hospital with a broken hip. I also do not dive off the side of the pool any more. There was a time when that was my standard way of entering a swimming pool. I can tell you it was never pretty but it usually was not painful. I knew enough not to belly flop but I was never a Greg Louganis, and I never dove off anything higher than 6 inches. So much for my crazy activities these past 50 years.
Now a days "getting crazy" usually involves staying up past 10:00P.M., sleeping past 9:00 A.M. or when I really get wild I will have ice cream for breakfast ! Such is the sad state of being older. But the absolute craziest thing that I do now a days is stay in Florida for the summer and LOVE it !!
How many people out there consider anyone who actually likes living in Florida in the summer to be full blown, squirrelly, bat shit NUTS ? Everyone I know seems to feel this way and will readily tell me I am crazy. But this is by far the very best time of the year to live down here.
At the moment I am sitting out side in the shade on my lanai. The patio fan is moving the air around me and the ocean breeze, (even though I am about 3 miles from the ocean) is blowing through the trees. It is HOT but it feels wonderful. I actually came outside because, even though the AC is set at 77 degrees, I was freezing in the house. Out here the sun is shining and the sky is blue. I wouldn't want to be digging ditches or putting a roof on a house or even weeding my garden but sitting here is lovely ! The crazy part is that years ago people would tell me that when you live in a hot climate your blood thins so you don't feel the heat as badly. I really did think this was a pile of horse poop but after living here all these years it does seem to be the truth. Not only do I enjoy sitting out side when it is 88 degrees but I now wear long pants and long sleeve tops when I go anywhere. If 30 years ago you had told me I would be dressing like this and not dying of heat prostration I would have told you that YOU were crazy. I mean, what person in their right mind carries around a sweater in the summer or wears a coat when the thermometer drops below 70?
I don't know if it is "old" age or what but I am enjoying my new "crazy" life.
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