“Time keeps on slippin’, slippin’, slippin’ into the future.” — Steve Miller

“But the sun keeps settin’, the days go fast and the sand the beach is like an hourglass.” — Brad Paisley

Whether it’s the creaks in my knees, the loud pops in my shoulders, the ache in my back or the white whiskers on my face, I never have to wonder long if I’m getting old. I am.

I overheard a young lady at a recent graduation ceremony tell someone she’d moved to her current home city because of her husband’s family. Husband? She looked 13 to me! I went ahead and assumed that child marriage was not suddenly legal and that my perception was just aging along with the rest of me.

As the annual waterfall of my five children’s birthdays began this week, I think about how my “baby” is 17 and my oldest two are 10 years her senior. This time next year, I’ll be at my baby’s high school graduation about two weeks after her sister’s college graduation.

Though I’m not yet a grandparent, plenty of people my age are, and I kind of act like a grandpa to my friends’ kids sometimes. I prefer to think of it as a favorite odd uncle, however.

I’m OK with getting older, really. I mean, the alternative is NOT getting older and since Peter Pan is just a story — and I’ve been to the Fountain of Youth in Florida and it was cool but odd — not getting older means dying. I’m ready to meet Jesus, but don’t want to do it face-to-face today, thanks.

I’m happy to see my kids keep growing and the days keep coming. Each day is a blessing, so I’ll sing you out with the intro to that Steve Miller song: “Doo-doo, doo-doo.”

Brett Campbell can be reached at brett.campbell@dailyleader.com.