From the Youngest To the Oldest

We decided to take a swimming pool exercise class for seniors… we thought it would be sweet… A way to get some exercise and beat the Florida heat. Two realizations hit me as I waded in: One, the water was a little cool, and Two, as I looked around it seemed to me…I was the oldest man in the pool. My mind drifted back to my swimming lessons…my parents thought it’d be cool to take me when I was just a baby…the youngest in the pool. My birthday is on New Year’s Eve…six days after the Yule… My parents sent me to 1st grade early so I was the youngest in my class at school. At 21 I became a teacher…for the most part still a fool…. but here I was in Kent, Ohio…the youngest teacher in my school. And I wondered where the time has gone…while exercising in the water…nice and cool How have I gone from the youngest…to the oldest in the pool? Then I found myself smiling at my good fortune…time has not been cruel… for there beside me was my wife, Deborah, exercising in the pool. We have a wonderful family…friends…we’ve had pets both dogs and cats…. We’ve been lucky to grow old together…and there’s nothing wrong with that! As we finished our exercise class a baby was taking lessons…learning how to swim… I stopped on my way out of the pool to wave and smile at him… Secretly I hoped his life…like mine…will be a jewel…. A parting wish from the oldest man…to the youngest in the pool.