I greatly enjoy this journey called life. But one day, I woke up to find I was old! | Opinion

The other day, I decided to clear out the running vines from my hanging philodendron. It had grown so that its vines had covered the floor of the corner of the porch under which it hang, spreading to the nearby ground.

Piece of cake, I thought to myself. I can do this. I can clear this out. And I got to work, pulling vines that had grown to the floor of the porch and pruning where needed. I was careful to look out for snakes. I had seen one not too long ago, wiggling across the porch from the area where I was working. I am not a snake lover, so I simply stood at my closed front door until it crawled away.

When I finished the weeding and pruning, I had quite a pile. Then, I realized that somebody would have to rake it up and put it in the garbage can. That’s when my back seemed to say, “Not you”.

It seemed all the muscles in my back were saying to me, ”Lady do you know how old you are?” I really had forgotten how old I am. But not for long. It was a rude awakening… again.

I really do love doing things. Like working in the plants on my porch and making new cushion covers for a couch. Doing such things — at the time I am doing them — seems to give me a new burst of energy. It makes me feel young again. I say to myself, I can still do this, even at my age.

And then, reality sets in. The back flares up and the knees want to buckle when I walk. I take a seat on the nearest chair just to catch my breath. That’s when I know ya’ll, that this aging thing is no joke. It is for real.

After resting for a while, I started thinking about the aging of the body, vs. the mind. It seems that my mind (thank you Lord) has stayed young, while my body has grown old. All too often, my mind tells me that I can do something that I used to do, way back when I was young. And like a person with no wit, I try to tackle whatever it is that my mind tells me I can do. I can tell you that I have been sorely disappointed. While my mind and my heart seem to have stayed forever young, my body has left them miles back on the road of life. My body just doesn’t work the way it used to.

When I was young, I used to pray that I would grow old gracefully; that I would always embrace myself at every age. And so far, I have done that.

‘Growing up together’

Looking back, I believe that being the single mother of two, often rambunctious boys, helped me to stay young at heart. I had to keep up with them… with their slang talk and teaching them how to treat girls. I used to tell them that we were growing up together. That’s because I knew that I didn’t have all the answers to their questions about life. So, together, we learned. While I never became an expert, what we learned got us to this point.

Because there was no male figure in our house when they were growing up, I learned to do a lot of things so that I could teach them to my sons. When there was no one to help us weed the yard to ready it for new sod, I got down on my knee with them to show them how it was supposed to be done. They didn’t know, I don’t think, that I was learning right along with them.

When it came time to paint the rooms in the house, we worked together painting one wall at a time, and marveling at how good a job we had done.

I think about those days, now, when I was young and filled with seemingly never- ending energy. Then, one day I woke up and I was old. Not a bad thing when you consider that I’m nearly 85 and didn’t have to wake up at all. That I woke up with my mind intact at this age is one of God’s miracles to me.

And although my limbs don’t operate like they used to, they still work. My legs and feet can still be counted on to carry me from place to place. With the help of a walking cane. Yes, my friends, I am now a bonified member of the Cane Brigade.

When I look at the aging process from that point of view, growing old isn’t so bad at all. Yes, I have aches and pains, much more often than I would like. And no, I can no longer go jogging for three miles, five days a week (like I did when I was young). But I am having had a great journey on this road called life. I am filled with gratitude, and I give praises to the Lord every day for allowing me to reach old age.

It’s just that I need to be reminded ever so often that this body of mine is not what she used to be. And yet, I can hardly wait to see what new mercies the Lord has in store for me. I’m enjoying the journey.

Martin Luther King Jr. re-enactment event in the Gables

The community is invited to annual Martin Luther King Jr. Re-enactment event: “Voices of the 1963 March on Washington!” at 2 p.m. Sunday (Jan. 15) at the Sanctuary of the Arts, which was at one time the Saint Mary Missionary Baptist Church, at 136 Frow Ave. in Coral Gables. The Historic Saint Mary is the first Black church in Coral Gables.

This year the Coconut Grove Ecumenical Network has partnered with the Sanctuary of the Arts to hold the event at the Sanctuary of the Arts, now a cultural and education facility. The event will also honor former congregants, who called the facility home since 1924.

The program will feature talent from a coalition of Historic Coconut Grove churches, schools, civic groups, social service organizations and the community at large. The event also will attempt to educate the community about the struggle and unsung heroes of the Civil rights Movement.

This is a free event. For more information call 305-329-7100.

Bea Hines can be reached at bea.hines@gmail.com