Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Another birthday: Wisdom included?

I type this from my quaint cottage in Michigan one day after my birthday. And though I’ve reached an age that always seemed to me to mean “old timer” status, to be honest, I don’t feel much different having reached that state of decrepitude (is this a word?) than I did when I celebrated every June 11 in glorious summers past. I still have many of the same interests I did when I was young and lithe and full of vim and vigor (and a few other things as well). There have always been summers of White Sox baseball, books to read, and family. And this summer is certainly no different.

This past weekend was spent with the most important people in my life: My wife, my son and daughter, my son-in-law and daughter-in-law, and my two wonderful grandsons. Because my birthday fell on a Monday this year, they all came for the weekend to play in the lake, to enjoy a terrific summer cookout dinner on Saturday night, and to spend the time helping me turn over another chapter in my life. For that, I am most grateful and couldn’t have received any better present!

As always, the time flew by much too quickly before the kids and grand kids all had to scamper back to their respective homes and jobs to start another week, leaving me to maintain my status as caretaker here at the cottage. Even the good wife had to head back this afternoon, following a nice birthday lunch with good friends up the road in Coloma.

So now, I catch my breath, plan out my duties for the week, get back to reading those summer books, and appreciate my new age. I suppose I should be proud and honored to have reached this ripe, old age. I think of those who never had the opportunity—luck—to make it this far (my dad being a perfect example). I count my blessings on a daily basis and am thankful for all that I have been given in this life.

With age, they say, comes wisdom. I would hope that I have attained some semblance of being wiser as well, but that probably remains to be seen. The jury is probably still out on that one. Sure, I still carry around too much weight on this year-older body, and I am very guilty for not getting enough daily exercise. And I tend to get careless when it comes to eating right. Those areas still need attention, and I’m hoping that being a year older will boost my wisdom level enough for me to attend to those things. 

But one thing is certain: this past weekend was a true joy. It was fun turning another year older, and perhaps wiser, with all of the important and precious people with me. I hope it will be as good next year at this time…MLA

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