It was like going through a long journey with many ups and downs and finally, reaching the finish line.
Her knees were hurting. Given her comorbidities, she could only get one of her knees injected at a time. She was delighted and said that was wonderful. That means I will get to see you again.
She shared how wonderful her family is and how fortunate she has been to get all the love. She was sitting alone in her room and was delighted to see me. Her smile lit up my day.
Every wrinkle on her face reflected decades of gathered wisdom. She was looking beautiful.
As I experienced my first signs of presbyopia, I thought of my parents when they had presbyopia. I was so proud of myself for reaching that fascinating age that my parents had when I was a little child. As a child, I wanted to grow as old as my parents so we could become the same age and have the same life span. I want to have my parents for as long as I live, just like anyone else. I now understand that reaching this age brings a lot of experiences and learning. It's like a trek. Once you start, you see different scenery and go through the rocky roads, smooth paths, meadows, water, marsh, and whatever comes your way. It feels accomplished to reach the midway. And when we are midway, it would only arouse excitement to do the rest of the journey to see what the final destination would look like. A hard trek often leads to a beautiful place. A trekker always looks forward to the next scene and the final beauty. A racer is always happy to see the finish line. And what makes the final destination or the finish line so attractive? It's the tough journey that makes the final experience more accomplished.
As I was thinking about Mrs. Stewart who was nearing a century, while getting a long overdue facial, the technician said that I looked like a 28-year-old and then she asked me my age and profession. I smiled at her and said, Thank you, that's very kind of you. Shhh! I will tell you a big secret, my age and profession... but don't tell anyone else. I am a 42-year-old doctor. She gave me a surprised look and then said, you look beautiful and don't have any wrinkles. I said, I am not sure how beautiful I look but I surely feel more beautiful at 42 than what I felt at 28. Then I told her, you are my favorite technician and we laughed.
She then asked me, Doc, why do you wear glasses? Why don't you get a Lasik? I said, "I love my glasses and enjoy feeling grown up like my parents when they were my age. I might think about it in the future or maybe wait for my cataract surgery in my 60s or 70s when I reach that age."
No matter how fast I run, my parents will always be years ahead of me and I will always enjoy aging beautifully and look forward to my final destination. I love my journey and the beautiful learning points on the way and will look forward to my final destination. When I get close to a century, I would love to sit by my window like Mrs. Stewart and feel proud of my accomplishments while enjoying the soothing sunlight lighting up the leaves, flowers, and the ground as well as my face.
Thanks to my beautiful parents!
Dr. Jaya Sonkar MD MPH
06/08/2024
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