(this space for rent)

My dad will turn 73 in a few weeks. I have never been one of those my-dad-is-my-hero types, but he continues to surprise and impress me. As most of you know, my mom passed away about 16 months ago. Dad kept living, and living his life to the fullest. 

I read somewhere that widows/widowers who have experienced happy marriages tend to remarry sooner. I guess for them, the experience of being married gave them enough good memories that they wanted more. So I for one was not surprised when he met a lovely woman -- only a few years younger than him -- and they were married six months later.

But the one thing that really impresses me is that, through all of this, he has been building a house. On his own. From scratch.

Now granted, he has been working on this house for probably five years now. He stated by clearing the site, then building a shed, then starting on the house while he and Mom lived out of the shed and an old RV. He based the design of the house on a plan meant for a pole barn. He works on it a little at a time, as money and stamina allows. But in his 70's he's raising studs, laying flooring, putting up drywall. He's still got a way to go, but he has put together a really nice three-bedroom house.

I was thinking about all of this the other day as I found I had a flat tire on my car. I found that the jack on my new car was missing the crank to raise it. Fortunately, our local Wal-Mart is only a mile away. Unfortunately, I have been having problems with my left heel (probably something to do with my Achilles tendon), and a couple of weeks before I had slipped on some ice and twisted my right knee. Neither infirmity was major, but I watched my shadow as I walked, thinking I looked like an old man. And of course, after I got back to my car, I still had to change the tire. So add a sore back to the mix.

Now understand, this is not me feeling sorry for myself. It was a bit of a wake-up call. I'm out of shape after a tough winter, I'm much heavier than I wish to be, and I have to stop and think of my age from time to time.

But considering what my dad can do at his age, I should be able to get myself back into the body of a fifty-year old man.