Jul 21, 2023 |
Rector's Blog, Older
| The Rev. Philip DeVaulRector's Blog, Older
Sometime in my 30’s I drove by the school for the first time in what must have been a decade, and I was so excited to feel that feeling again, or some nostalgic version of it. I almost drove right past the building. It was like they had replaced it with a half-sized replica. I kept looking for it even as I was looking right at it. And then I realized that it was right in front of me, with those tiny steps up to some simple looking doors and the quaint edifice that was definitely lovely, but certainly not imposing.
I’m sure you’ve had this experience at some point: Some thing or place changing so dramatically over time from how you remember it – changing in size, in magnitude, in meaning. It used to tower over you, and now, well, it doesn’t. And you have to adjust.
I turned 44 last week, which is a pretty inconsequential age to be, as ages go. Just good ol’ mid-forties. Middle-aged. I’m not going to take this opportunity to wax poetic on the aging process, as I know that about half of you who read this are 20, 30, 40 years older than me, and you don’t need to hear my version of the thing you’ve been dealing with for a while. It’s strange though, when I am doing Premarital Counseling with a couple and I begin to talk about “our age” and then realize we are, in fact, very different ages.
I was listening to the Beatles the other day, and I realized they were in their 20’s the entire time they were together. They were kids. Remember the Sgt. Pepper era when the Beatles all had terrible facial hair? Well of course they did: they were in their 20s! That’s when you do that! I am 4 years older than John Lennon was when he died. The Beatles, the bride and the groom, the elementary school, they haven’t changed, but you change in your relation to them.