HAPPY NEW YEAR

It’s almost New Year’s Eve. Well, my New Year’s Eve that is. In a few days, I will celebrate one more trip around the sun, and as it approaches, I see a new year full of new goals and opportunities.

Image courtesy of DigitalArt at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

If you have ever had children, you know how fast the year goes and how much that new bundle of joy changed, especially that first year of life.

I think George Carlin put it best in his “Views on Aging.”

Do you realize that the only time in our lives when we like to
get old is when we’re kids? If you’re less than 10 years old,
you’re so excited about aging that you think in fractions.

‘How old are you?’ ‘I’m four and a half!’ You’re never thirty-
six and a half. You’re four and a half, going on five! That’s
the key..

You get into your teens, now they can’t hold you back. You jump
to the next number, or even a few ahead.

‘How old are you?’ ‘I’m gonna be 16!’ You could be 13, but hey,
you’re gonna be 16! And then the greatest day of your life ! You
become 21.. Even the words sound like a ceremony.YOU BECOME 21.
YESSSS!!!

But then you turn 30. Oooohh, what happened there? Makes you
sound like bad milk! He TURNED; we had to throw him out. There’s
no fun now, you’re Just a sour-dumpling What’s wrong? What’s
changed?

You BECOME 21, you TURN 30, then you’re PUSHING 40. Whoa! Put on
the brakes, it’s all slipping away Before you know it, you REACH
50 and your dreams are gone…

But! wait!! ! You MAKE it to 60. You didn’t think you would!
So you BECOME 21, TURN 30, PUSH 40, REACH 50 and make it
to 60.

You’ve built up so much speed that you HIT 70! After that it’s a
day-by-day thing; you HIT Wednesday!

You get into ! your 80’s and every day is a complete cycle; you
HIT lunch; you TURN 4:30; you REACH bedtime. And it doesn’t end
there. Into the 90s, you start going backwards; ‘I Was
JUST 92.’

Then a strange thing happens. If you make it over 100, you
become a little kid again. ‘I’m 100 and a half!’
May you all make it to a healthy 100 and a half!!

My biggest accomplishment for the year was to retire after 34 years of teaching high school English, speech, creative writing, and theater in June. The rest of the year has been an adjustment to retired life.

I didn’t retire, like some people, wondering what I would do with my time. I have plenty to do with my time, including a new career in writing and a new career as the book keeper for our trucking company.

My life long learner philosophy also helps to dictate an active life. I enjoy learning new things and developing new skills. I also enjoy doing what I already know how to do. It always frustrates me when I hear people declare that they are bored because life is what you make it and how open your mind is to the rest of the world and the world of things to learn.

My biggest plan is to make every day count.