We can't learn if we think we know too much to risk being wrong
I'd like to take this occasion to announce an addition to the Pinhead clan: not-so-little (eight pounds-plus and 20 inches) Sophia Ellen Pinhead, born at the birthing center at Group Health hospital on Capitol Hill, Seattle, on Tuesday, November 16, 2010, at 3:15 pm, Pacific time.
Steviepinhead's first grandchild.
Sigh.
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9:10 PM
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7 comments:
Congratulations!!! That's awesome news! All the fun, none of the responsibility, or so they say.
Ya! I'm very much thrilled.
At the same time, it's a little humbling. I was conceived when my parents were in college. My grandparents were in their late forties or early fifties when I was born (and only that old, on my mom's side, because my mom was the youngest of their three daughters).
My son, the proud father, wasn't born until I was 30 (the first of my three sons). My dad -- who was able to teach my sons how to ski -- was 53 that year. And Sophia, my first son's first child, was born during my son's 30th year.
So: lengthier educational tracks and the need to establish careers (for husbands AND wives) this last couple of generations have delayed first births by a decade or more since I squawled onto the scene.
Which means I'm already 60 and only now "having" my first grand-child. Needless to say, over the past six months, the pinhead has been on a campaign to get back into shape (and I'm fortunate not to have any major injuries or chronic conditions, aside from the eye problems some of you have gone through with me).
But the years cannot be staved off altogether: even if fortune favors me, I'll be seventy when Sophia's ten, seventy-five when she's 15. And she's "only" my first grandchild!
Yikes! Quite a challenge for an aging grandpa to stay physically and mentally and technologically relevant...
So, though I'm thoroughly delighted, that's the origin of the "Sigh" at the bottom of my announcement.
Thanks, of course, for the congrats!
Stevie-weevie! Congratulations! Thanks for sharing your joy and delightful challenge.
I am unfortunately exacerbating the generational problem myself -- I'm 35 and not even married, much less have kids. You are blessed.
And congratulations on getting into shape! Having a grandson sounds like great motivation. :-)
Thanks!
And the "getting in shape" part barely survived Thanksgiving week, heh!
The next challenge will be the round of holiday parties... Yikes!
Somehow, I can't imagine that you're 60. I've always pictured you much younger at your keyboard. I guess you did say that you had recently retired, so that probably should have tipped me off. :-)
Good luck getting back in shape. I just found a group of Sandians to play soccer with every lunch hour on my quest to stay fit and avoid the middle tire/injuries that seem to be creeping up on me. I have found that to be a tough nut to crack with a desk job, and I'm a quarter century+ younger and living in a sunny climate 300+ days/year. Do you have a favorite activity like water polo or tennis that you can participate in, so that it becomes something you look forward to?
Hey, Douglas! Good luck with your keeping in shape routine. Having others involved definitely makes the grind a little more fun!
Another clue to my, ahem, advanced age: my detached retina (and other age-related eye surgery) adventures over the last five years. While a detached retina can happen at any time, severe nearsightedness and age are risk factors.
At various times, I've been a body-surfer (high school), a track and cross-country runner (high school), a recreational soccer/touch football player (college/law school), a runner/jogger (most of my life, into my late forties, then I started getting calf muscle tears from the constant pounding), a horse-rider/jumper (late thirties, and a brief stint in fall 2009), a fencer (thirties, early forties), a hiker/backpacker/climber/mountaineering instructor (late thirties-present), a biker (lifelong, though now mostly on approaches to backcountry trips: road biking in town is simply NOT safe!), and a skier (age twelve-present: I'm still fortunate to be able to get down the double-black diamond runs).
Since I had to give up steady jogging, I've stayed in shape for mountaineering and skiing by running up and down a set of (actual) stairs in my neighborhood: I'm even the "old stair guy" to the neighborhood kids and moms and dog-walkers who use the stairs on a daily basis; in this day of stressed municipal budgets, I'm also pretty much the guy who rakes the leaves and needles off the stairs...!
I'm involved with a mountaineering instructional group that tries to gain a certain amount of altitude toward an actual peak in the Cascades each weekend, year-round (which obviously involves snowshoes, ice axes, and avalanche concerns this time of year).
We're in temporary suspension from the holidays. But like your soccer group, this is a great break from solo conditioning: we provide each other with camraderie, cross-motivation, friendly competition, and microbrews afterwards!
Another bunch of friends (the core of which go back to college days) and I go skiing for one week a year at a "destination" resort. It's a modest expense, but a great time, and another motivation to stay in reasonably decent shape, year-round.
There's a certain amount of luck involved (the genetic lottery, no disabling injuries) in being able to maintain some minimal level of healthy condition over the arc of your life, and I'm lucky not to have knee or hip issues (yet) and that I've been fairly injury-free (a couple of bad ankle sprains, the calf-tear thing, a broken pinky from a law-firm softball game...).
But I'd encourage everyone to do something, even if they have joint or other chronic health issues: walk, swim, whatever your body and your doctor suggest... Motivation is always an issue (heck, I should be out running the stairs RIGHT NOW), but finding a like-minded group of non-judgmental supportive friends can be a big help with that.
Good luck all! Merry Christmas and a happy and healthy New Year!
Wow, Stevie! I had no idea you were so active. You've really run the gamut. I've often thought of trying climbing and fencing. I just need the time to get involved, I guess.
And you're still mountain climbing and skiing the crazy runs! That is impressive.
Merry Christmas and a happy and healthy New Year, to you and all our friends here, too!
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