As the man awoke one more morning of his life, he realized it is his 81st birthday.  He laid in bed thinking about his life.  Remembering a past that had its share of hardships, while comparing that to the present of living in retirement.  His body was not the same as it was in his younger years.  Events over his life took its toll.

The back that was once strong and healthy was feeling the weight of things lifted in his younger years.  His mind was sharp as ever and for that he is grateful.  He wondered how nice it would be if he could translate his thoughts quickly into spoken words, since that has proven difficult to do since recovering from a recent stroke.

The man opened his eyes and stared up at the ceiling in his bedroom.  “Even with my aging body, I have a roof over my head, food on the table, and a loving wife by my side,” he thought.  Then he wondered how long it would take him to translate that thought into spoken words.  “At least I can think with a sound mind.  Others cannot think, but can speak.  I’ll take the thinking and keep working on improving the speaking.”

The man pulled back the covers, put on his slippers and walked out to the kitchen.   The coffee was already brewed as he poured himself a cup.  “At least I don’t shake so bad that I can’t pour a cup of coffee,”  he said to himself.   He knew of friends that were not able to do the fine mechanical tasks very well, due to tremors and other physical ailments.  “I have a bit of a tremor, but it’s minor compared to others.”

He walked to the door step to retrieve the morning newspaper.  Being a newspaper man himself in his younger years, he understands the switch from print to digital distribution.   “I’m glad they are still printing and delivering to my doorstep.   There is no need to ‘boot’ anything, or to download an ‘update’ in order to read the newspaper.”  he said to himself.

He decided to sit on the patio, read the newspaper and drink his coffee as the sun began to rise in the distance.  It was winter, but in his part of the world, it was warm enough to sit outside.  “Life is pretty good.   I can see, hear, think, and still take my three-mile walks.  My wife is still with me, and we can travel together.  My body feels like it is aging, but I don’t feel old.  Maybe I’m not old,”  he chuckled.

His wife soon arose and joined him on  the patio.  Without saying a word, they gave each other a smile.  Being married for well over fifty years, they no longer needed words to communicate.  The wife, whispered a happy birthday as she kissed her husband on the lips.   He said, “thank you” and they returned to watching the sun rise.

“Yup, life is good”  he thought.  “Things are different now, but I have a good life and am going to enjoy every single birthday.   Many people my age start to dislike their birthdays, but I’m going to embrace the birthdays and be grateful for another year of life.”

He turned to his wife, touching her hand, he whispered, “I love year dear. Thank you for saying ‘yes’ when I asked you to marry me.”

Ω

InspiraCard

Birthdays are another “notch” on the tree of your life.  You can embrace them and reflect upon your life, or deny them and continue attempting to cover up your age.  Whatever you choose, you must remember that things can never be the way they once were, and that living in the past only prevents you from living right now.

Written Wed, Jan 29, 2014, 7:36 – 7:54 AM MT