Growing Pains
Then and now.
When I was young, my legs would sometimes ache. My mother would smile and say, “That’s just your growing pains. Your legs are stretching, growing strong.” And so it seemed to be.
These days I sometimes feel pain, it seems from head to toe. Kneeling and standing , stretching or bending, or even just lying in bed, my joints and bones make themselves known.
“Slow down”, some urge with solicitude. “You are getting too old.” But I prefer to see these pains as signs of growth and change.
I must move with more care these days, and a little bit slower too. Still, I will continue to plant flowers, take country walks, listen to the birds, share smiles and hugs, and tell silly jokes whenever I can.
And I refuse to stop growing, especially in compassion, wisdom, and love, despite my aches and pains. Up to and including our last-drawn breath, why would we ever stop growing?
