Age is just a . . .

You know, I am going to talk about a phrase that bugs me, and I am a little hesitant, because (1) this seems like such an insignificant thing to blog about, and (2) I have read a couple of comments on my blog with the same phrase. I really can't remember who said it, but it was someone I like.

Anyway, I have heard a lot of people say, "Age is just a number."

Imagine if you will, some 18-year-old dancing at a club, Rum-and-Coke in her hand, having a good time. Policeman comes up to her and asks for her ID. When he notices that she is not old enough to legally drink in the club, she flippantly remarks, "Age is just a number."

Or how about learning that your brother, age 33, is nailing one of his eighth grade students. When he confers with his lawyer – the lawyer he had to get because he is charged with statutory rape, he says, "Age is just a number."

Or how about the cute 6-year-old girl who wants to go to the Madonna concert – in a different city, late at night. When you say that she cannot go because she is too young, she says, "Age is just a number."

This is one of those phrases that sounds good but I can see several examples where age falls short. Okay, admittedly, the shortcomings occur in extreme examples, and people are too young, not too old. This is the light, easy to destroy, part of the argument. Now for my real thoughts.

We are only on this earth for such a short time. And from what I know, we are all going to die. Age tends to be positively correlated to death – the older you become, the more likely you are to die. Age seems to matter.

We should be cherishing each day of our lives, but the older we get, the faster life seems to become. We are careening into old age.

I remember the lazy summers when I was in middle and high school. The summer seemed to last forever. Well, the last week of summer flew by, but other than that, things crawled. You know, you got up late, had a nice breakfast, showered and whatever, laid out at the pool from late morning to late afternoon (perhaps having lunch near the pool), went home and showered, looking to see how your tan is coming in the shower, got ready for your parents to come home, talked on the phone, whatever. And it lasted forever.

Age should be a reminder. Not necessarily that we need to update our wills (not a bad idea, especially if you have children) – but age should be a reminder that the clock is ticking. We need to be doing what is important to us – whether that be ensuring that we have good relationships with our family, or that we want to work our minds and our bodies, that we want to spiritually grow. Personal values. Perhaps just discerning what is important in your heart is enough right now. The world is so loud and confusing – sometimes it drowns out the voices we have in our heads.

Age is a number, yes, but it is not only a number.

I started saying, "My checking account balance is just a number." You know, that doesn't sound as profound, and, well, if you take the saying to heart, you tend to bounce a lot of checks.

I have a young heart, young eyes. But I can't deceive myself. I will die, whether I think about it or not, and I have a lot I need to do while on this Earth. I need to be a good steward of my time.