Silver and Gray
February 2, 2010
Every time I look in the mirror, it seems as though I have a few more gray hairs. Every time I get my hair cut, it seems as though I have a lot more gray hairs. Though I like to blame this phenomenon on having two kids in college or job stress, I suppose the true culprit is being over forty. (Besides, if someone comments about my gray hair, I just retort that I’d rather have gray hair than no hair at all.)
Not that having graying hair bothers me all that much—at least not as much as it bothers my family. They continually try to coax me into dying my hair and have even threatened to hold me down and do it by force, but, so far, they haven’t succeeded. While I don’t criticize other men for covering up their gray hair, it’s just not for me.
I guess the real issue here is that I don’t mind getting older. Oh, sure, my knees can’t take the pounding up and down the basketball court anymore, and I have my share of aches and pains, but I can still do most of the things I enjoy. I’ve been able to experience things later in life that I never had the opportunity to enjoy as a younger person.
Many people wish they could go back and relive some happier time in their life, like their high school years. (When I think about it, my high school years weren’t all that great.) I can honestly say that I wouldn’t want to live in any other time period of my life than right now. Life at this age holds a lot of responsibilities, but I’m still having fun and am even able to indulge my “inner 18-year-old” once in a while. I’ve concluded that as long as you’re able to keep trying and learning new things, getting older is not that big a deal (so far).
At work, engineers with gray hair are often accorded a measure of respect and are relied on heavily for their experience and expertise. One of my fellow workers calls these older engineers “silverbacks.” You who watch one of the nature channels on cable know that a silverback is an old male gorilla whose hairs on his back are turning silver-gray. I’m still trying to figure out if being compared to a large, hairy primate is a good thing, but I think my friend means the term in a good way.
Another term I’ve heard at work which describes older engineers who have been around for a long time is “gray beards.” In my mind, this conjures up either a pirate or a wise old man on top of a mountain, but I suppose it’s meant to be a compliment to the veteran engineers. I’m just not sure they feel that way about it.
In any case, even though I’m turning gray, it will be a little while before I reach the gorilla or pirate stage. In the meantime, even though life has its ups and downs, I’m enjoying myself more now than at any other time in my life. I’ll think I’ll just keep having fun, gray hair and all.
