USEFUL LINKS

"Men of a Certain Age."

Love the show but can't relate to the title. In my world, it's "Men of an Uncertain Age." If you're there, you can relate to the title change.

The story line of "Men of a Certain Age" follows three men going through mid-life and the struggles they encounter with that time of life. In my world, the twist comes with the confusion of just how a man of 53 should conduct himself and live life. Do I look back for answers to my future or look to the future for answers about the past? Then, again, is Eckhart Tolle's "living in the now" the best way to contend with the past and future?

It's like going through puberty again, only this time I'm getting a little slower and weaker instead of faster and stronger. The brain is settling instead of absorbing at a faster rate.

I now understand the life of a pumpkin the days following Halloween.

There's not an unhappiness, but rather a concern for what I should have done or haven't done yet. There's also the realization if I am lucky enough to live until 80, that only leaves me half the years I have already been granted. Many of those will come at a slower pace.

And that all adds up to the uncertainty of how I should be conducting myself at 53. We've all been taught to slow down as we get older, yet my mind and body reject that train of thought. When I look into a mirror I realize my face has grasped the situation. But is it trying to tell me it's bed time or warn me to do what I can while I can? Uncertainty.

I would guess any man or woman who has ever been a true competitor has trouble letting go in their late forties or early fifties. "Acting one's age" is no longer a clear cut. I've been told with advances in medicine, knowledge and health products, 50 is the new 40, if someone takes care of himself and when compared to my dad's generation. Isn't it?

And that's the million dollar question. Do we really have more quality years to live at 50 than those in the past, or have we led ourselves down Vanity Lane, where the truth is often camouflaged by denial?

My uncertainty leads me to believe there is at least some hope for more quality years ahead. Time to take care of doing all the things I had the time or chance to do in the past.

But didn't.

For me, the good news is my last four years have been better than the four previous ones, which were brutal. And as long as there is uncertainty, there is hope.

I'm certain of that.