How this little girl changed my perspective on aging.

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Growing older isn't fun. My back hurts. I have to wear glasses to read. In softball, I can't hit for power like I used to. I think the little girl in this photo may become a Rabbi when she grows up. She is very serious, and a delight to talk to. She and I were very much attached when I worked at the Jewish preschool in Berkeley. We would sit around and have philosophical discussions. When she was three or four, she said, "I love this" and grabbed my "wattle." My wattle is the flap of skin that hangs down beneath my chin. I have a smooth face for an old guy. My sagging skin all descends to my wattle. Once I told her that my flap of skin is called a "wattle," she added, " I want to marry your wattle." I said, "If you married my wattle, you'd have to marry all of me. My wattle in a bottle on your dresser would be kind of gross." A week or two later, the little girl's mother said to me, "Chanah wants to marry your wattle. What's a wattle?" I think she was worried. I showed her my wattle. Chanah was there. Chanah said, "My mommy has a little wattle, but yours is the best." Her mommy and I looked at each other, deadpan. My interactions with Chanah taught me that beauty really is subjective. I am sometimes "ashamed" of being old. I would like to have my 27-year-old body back, accompanied by the wisdom of an 80-year-old. Chanah taught me that there is beauty in being older, even if she doesn't yet know the word "metaphor." I am forever thankful to her for that.