Birthday Reflections

Another Year Down

At this rate I’ll be dead before you know it! I’m not being morose. Just stating the facts. At the pace time flies, even with great longevity, I have at best forty years left on me. Four decades. They won’t be my best years physically, either. Not to mention that memory loss thing.

A day passes in a blink. A year flies by in a mere heartbeat. A decade slips away like liquid mercury. One life is a blip on the radar. But this life is the only blip I have, so I’m watching pretty closely.

On the other hand, forty years is two-thirds of what I’ve lived so far. From that perspective, it sounds like a fair credit in the time bank. I should be able to accomplish something in that liberal amount of time. 

Looking back, it’s been action packed and full of experiences. Not as many or necessarily the experiences I would choose if I could rewind and take some of those years back again. But life has not been without merit or richness.  I’ve lived sixty ‘one year’ segments. Now that feels short again. Think how quickly you can count to sixty! Now cut that down to forty. Okay, I’m back to thinking life is too short.

Throw in the monkey wrench of unexpected disease, disability or death, and the picture looks even more bleak. I’ve been blessed with relatively few health hurdles and pitfalls on my path. And I’m grateful. 

I know from experience that the good can be the ones to die young, as well as the not-so-good. I know some wonderful old ones, too. So some of the good ones stumble on the longer trails to destiny. 

Truth: Angels come (and go) in all shapes, sizes and ages. A good reminder to entertain––welcome the stranger at your door. You never know who might be standing on the doorsill.