Time passes so quickly these days. It seems like only yesterday I was young and full of dreams and hopes and plans. “Getting old” wasn’t on my radar. Mary and I had big dreams, lots of plans and great hopes. Before we even married we opened a joint saving account and planned on buying a cabin in the mountains together. Shortly after getting married, we used all the money in that account to go toward our first set of furniture for our new apartment home. So much for the mountain home.
We’ve lived a wonderful life. Three children, eight grandchildren and one brand new great granddaughter. We couldn’t be more blessed. I lived out a career totally different from my initial plans but I have no complaints, just the opposite, my career made me a better person than I would have been in my “dream career”. Nope, we’ve been blessed beyond our wildest dreams. And, along with some special friends, I’ve hiked some pretty darn amazing trails!
Time has a way of moving more and more quickly, however. Before we knew it, the years added up and first came thirty, then forty, then fifty and then 2 weeks later seventy. Yesterday we were young and embarking on a new life ahead of us. Today, we’re sitting in our chairs and reflecting on a life well lived. Where did all those years go? I remember knowing all these wonderful “old people” and now I am one, maybe not “wonderful” but certainly “old.” Most of our friends are old and gray too. We all move slower; we all talk more about our ailments and what new medicines we’re on, and we all reminisce about the “old days” more than I want to admit. But, we are surely blessed to have wonderful “young” friends to complement our beautiful “old” friends. The good thing is most of us can’t remember the stories we’ve already told and heard.
And so, I now enter this new season unprepared for all the aches and pains and the loss of strength, and eyesight getting worse but then again I’m blessed to be alive and able to face these new challenges. Sure, I have regrets, but not too many and mostly my regrets are that I didn’t love as deeply and fully as I should have, that I held on to anger and resentment too much, and that I hope people knew how much I loved them in spite of not saying it so well.
If you’re not in your season of winter yet, let me remind you that it will get here faster than you can know. If you are in your winter, along with me, let’s remind each other what truly matters, what we take with us to the end of our days and what we have to look forward to. Whatever season of life you’re in, go ahead and embrace it to the fullest, live it with abandon, and don’t put off your dreams. None of us are guaranteed tomorrow so let’s enjoy today to the fullest.
None of have the next season promised. So, live for today, say all the good things you should be saying and tell your loved ones how much you love them. Better yet, show them how much you love them. I can’t promise you that you won’t have regrets but I can promise you the joys and smiles will far exceed the sorrows and frowns. Regrets, sure I have them, but at the end of the day I can say “I did it my way”!
D. Robert “Bob” Chance