Middle age plus

Can you imagine what it was like for Adam and Eve to get old? They had never seen anyone who was old. There had never been anyone older than they were. Therefore the shock must have been great the first time Adam took a good look at Eve after several years together. He must have wondered what had happened to that firm body, smooth skin and dark hair. (I guess we don't really know if Eve was a brunette or a blond, but judging by the part of the world where she was created, she probably was dark headed.) Adam wouldn't have been able to think, "Hey, Eve is beginning to look just like her mother." No, he would have to ponder all these thought by himself.

I'm sure that Eve may have taken a glancing look in a nearby stream from time to time, and wondered about these things herself. And imagine her despair the first time she had trouble getting up from her seat on the ground. She couldn't remember that her sister used to have the same trouble when she got older. No, Eve had to experience these things all by herself.

There was no older aunt she used to visit when she was little. In fact, since she never was "little" she missed finding out many things about her body and her environment. I'm not sure it was such a paradise if she had never been allowed to be a child in the garden.

Eve had never watched an older sister change as she aged, therefore Eve didn't know what was happening to her. And since she hadn't taken care of a father or father-in-law I am sure that the changes she saw in Adam must have been distressing.

Perhaps watching the animals that would have aged more quickly than the humans gave them some clues to what was happening to their own bodies. But since most animals have fur, hides, or feathers over their skin, these lone humans couldn't hide their wrinkling skin even with a whole branch of olive leaves. Since their sons were not very good to each other, we wonder who did care for the couple as they got really old. I don't think we know who died first, Adam or Eve, but if only one was left I am sure there was no 'Old Folk's Home' to give care. It might have been a sad story.

We are blessed with the ability to grow up among people of all ages. We sat on a grandparent's lap, were held by wrinkled hands, hugged by arms with sagging flesh, and were told stories of other older relatives and friends.

When we reach maturity we often have the responsibility of caring for an older person. And when we become middle age plus we can have the fun of comparing our own aging faces and bodies with those of our peers. Of course the others look much older than we do, but we have no problems wondering what on earth is going on.

So when I look into a mirror and see that my eyes are beginning to look like Aunt Gladys', that my mouth turns the same way as my mother's did, or that my handwriting is beginning to look more like my sister's did, I know what is happening. I may not like it very much, but I do know it is nothing to worry about. It is just age. So pity Adam and Eve. They were the first persons to get old. They had to do it all alone. There was no Seniors' Center, no red hat society, and no senior privileges. Just the two of them, blazing the trail for the rest of us.