Occasionally I hear the words “those were the days.” And to be honest, sometimes I think that even might be the case from time to time as I reflect back on events, but as I reflect for a moment now, “These are the days” ring true for me.
Yeah, I wish I could do a lot of things my body could do when I was 20 that I can’t now. But on the other hand, my mind is so much stronger than it was then, and the appreciation for the body that has held up this long. So these are the days.
I wish I could have my young children run at me full speed and I grab them under the shoulders and lift them into the air and spin again, but that is OK because now I get to have their children (my grandchildren) run at me full speed and I lift them in the air and spin, laugh and blow bubbles on their tummy as I lift them overhead. So these are the days.
I loved the old days when I had a big V8 with a massive roar (Hooker headers and side pipes will do that for you), but I’m very fine and in love with sporting around in a small 2 seat convertible and the winding roads instead of the straights. So these are the days.
In the old days we (friends and I) were so full of life we thought we were invincible. Having made it this far we know that is far from the truth so each time together is held with special regard and appreciation. Not that we don’t revel in a lot of our old (let’s say shenanigans) but I think we all look forward to each email, phone call, embrace when we see each other, and acknowledgment that “These are the days.”
Being at the end of my first and only professional career in newspapers I look back at my work over decades doing many special things at many special times with many special people. And while I’m very proud of those things and the teams I’ve been involved with to make many special things happen. And the contact I have with past work friends make those very alive still. But I’m more excited about the possibilities of my new future creating with words and images and videos and carvings and whatever else strikes my creative fancy. So these are the days.
Having faced a few medical challenges in the past and having come through them, I have a special appreciation for every sunrise so these are the days.
Random Thoughts of the Day
- Found a few gems sorting through an old family photo album. Yes back when people put photos in bindered albums with physical prints on PAPER.
- I’m going to have to hustle to complete the carving for January goal I had.
- Instead of worrying about the negative polls of our leaders we should each ask ourselves how we can help make things better.
- Another box of family treasures opened today. I might start a blog just based on my fathers travels on Operation Deep Freeze and others.
- When I look at pictures of my better half and my daughter when they both were young, I see my daughter and her daughter in them.