INEVITABLE RECKONING

Nothing says inevitable reckoning like birthdays. As children birthdays were looked forward too with nearly as much anticipation as Christmas. Inextricably we cross an invisible line and much like the credit card bills Christmas represents for some, we begin to dread the upcoming date of our birth. I think it begins when that first “friend” says, “hey, you’re getting old.” Sets in for real when you start listening to music five years old or more, unable to get into the new stuff no matter how hard you try. The cop in the cruiser next to you at the light looks 18 years old. You get your first double digit reunion notice and think “where has the time gone?” catching yourself looking in the mirror with a critical eye, wondering how you will measure up against your classmates and if that gym membership is still active. The march of time does not take breaks and only moves in one direction, seemingly picking up steam the further down the path it gets. Then you look at one of your kids and they have a couple of gray hairs, their kids in high school. Reading glasses no longer an option, vanity be damned, a necessity. The box office attendant gives you the senior discount without asking and you are torn. It is nice getting a couple of bucks off but it still kinda pisses you off. So what is one to do? Live in the day. The only time we have is this moment. The only time we can be present is in the present moment, the only time we can be present for those about us is right now, the only time we can be present for God is in the present moment. Do not allow yourself to project into the future or dwell on the past. Live one day at a time and the tomorrows will take care of themselves if we are about God’s business, trusting and relying on Divine Love and Guidance. Oh, and then there is that day when your AARP card arrives. Me, I have changed my birthday to Feb.29 that way I only have to deal with it every four years and I am a teenager again. When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change. I think I will go punch that attendant though, because now they will have to try me as a minor.