Today I am officially 42 years old. There doesn’t seem to be any difference physically or mentally with being 41 but I guess I’ve got a year for the verdict to come in.
I have been paying more attention to what my body is telling me as I get older. I’ll always remember my Dad saying that at 40 things start to hurt that didn’t hurt before. My Mom also told me she had a dream where I died of kidney failure. It is true that my body is a bit stiff which is highly noticeable before and after karate practice. I find myself making groaning noises and sometimes the Japanese ojisan (old man) utterance escapes from my lips, “Yoisho.”
I mentioned the stiffness to my friend Brandon and he said bluntly, “You’re getting old Matt!” Damn.
For the most part I’m still in pretty good shape due to karate. It is grueling and if I sit down after the Saturday double header of kids then adults class I can no longer do anything productive after sitting down as I’m sure to fall asleep. My home gym has been collecting dust recently but it is not laziness but the fact that karate and the kids take so much out of me I no longer have the willpower to get up at 4:00 AM to workout which is the only time really available to do so.
I’ll be able to workout again when the family is in Japan and I have an abundance of free time but for now it just isn’t possible.
The weather today is overcast with rain clouds threatening. We’re going ahead with a gathering (possible cookout) anyway because it would be a shame to waste a three day weekend (and my birthday no less) by doing nothing.
This morning I did my meditation to clear my mind and it was a better meditation in that I really got into the zone. Unfortunately the euphoria didn’t last and my mindset turned a bit negative as the usual battle in getting Kai to finish his homework began and there is always a bit of stress before a party as the wife likes everything to be perfect. I really don’t have to do much at all but I feel her stress and am unable to help much with all the food preparation. I’m cool with a nice bottle of wine and pizza but Japanese women feel differently and need everything to be perfect.
The negative mindset has passed however and I’m becoming more relaxed through writing in this blog for a post I really wanted to get down on my birthday. I’ll enjoy reading these in the future as it helps me understand how my mindset changes over the years.
The mind really is an interesting thing especially with a blog like this and I can read old entries. My former ways of thinking would be lost to time if I didn’t have this to remind me. As I’ve said for years now, joy and excitement came so much easier when I was young. But now my mindset neither gets too excited nor too down and keeps an even temperament except of course when the hoshuko (Japanese homework) battle rages in the house.
Life is good at 42. I’ve got a job I really like, my kids are doing very well, I have a wonderful wife and we have a lovely home. The biggest downer for me seems to be the news which puts me in a bad mood every time I read it. If we could get Trump out of office, take care of the planet and its inhabitants and turn the general mood of the nation around then I would have absolutely nothing to complain about!
Well, there are still a few hours before everyone comes over so I think I’ll either continue reading my book, Restless Valley: Murder and Intrigue in the Heart of Central Asia ( I wanted to know more about Kyrgyzstan), or throw on my Oculus VR and explore the world using the Wander App.
