Life, so they say...

"Life, so they say
is but a game and
we let it slip away"

We May Never Pass This Way Again

Seals & Crofts

Tomorrow is my birthday. Not a milestone birthday - just an ordinary one. One more year under my belt. More often than not, it is just another day. However, once in a while I get reflective and introspective. This year is one of them.

Every now and again the speed and rapidity of life makes an impact on me. When we are not paying attention, a whole lot of life slips by, sometimes unnoticed. One day you are working, watching your career, the next day you are retired. While working, I always thought the retirement thing would be this long tunnel that you could see coming for miles. For some, that might be the case. For me, it was not. When I was done, I knew I was done. It was 2008, the economy just tanked, and I was out of work. With the combination of my age and the economy, I knew I was done. No more business travel, no ugly commutes, no more early morning meetings, no deadlines, no Blackberry. My daily uniform had changed from business casual to sweat pants and sleeveless vests.

The kids have been gone for some time now. After having our lives totally focused on our kids and their activities, they are gone - living their lives as adults. As proud as I am of both of them, I miss the days of eating together as a family, talking about school stuff, quizzing them for desert, and just being close. Our dinners now are much less hectic and more regular. However, once in a while I miss "hectic". I miss fighting for the remote after dinner. I even miss waiting up at night when one or both were out after dark with other drivers I did not trust. When they come over to visit the folks now, it is a treat for both of us. With one daughter in her 30's and the other in her 20's, I again ask "where in the world did the time go?".

Our loyal Lab, Sadie, will turn 12 this month. She is showing her age and we know the number of tomorrows is much less than her yesterdays. We lost our cat Morty last summer to a congenital urinary issue. When Sadie is no longer with us, that will be it. No more pets. It will be strange as we have had either a cat, dog or both since the second year of marriage. When we no longer have a pet, the house will be even quieter. It will be very strange.

 

 

Years ago, a woman named Gail Sheehy wrote a book called Passages. A well written book, she talked about the different phases or "passages" in her life. In reality, that is what life is - passages. Life is as precious as it is fragile. Life is like a fine wine to be sipped and savored. As more of it passes, we realize how important life is, never to be taken for granted. It is a gift - a gift of the highest order. As Seals and Crofts wrote, it is much too easy to watch life "slip away". So on tomorrow's birthday, before I watch more of this gift rapidly pass by, I say as Teyve said in Fiddler on the Roof - la heim, la heim! (to life!).