Aging is fabulous. There is nothing special about 365 days other than the fact that that it’s the number of days in one year. Every 365 days people, presuming they’re still with us, have a birthday. If 730 days made up a year then we’d all live half as long and if 182 days made up a year we’d all live twice as long.
A blogger friend of mine, Chopper Papa, wrote a fabulous post about getting older. It was about mortality, regrets and future possibilities. Another blogger friend of mine, The Jack B, commented that he too was aging this month. It’s a good month for forty-something dads who write to age, relax and ponder about life.
I’m reminded of some sage wisdom that was laid down by one of the members of The New Kids on the Block. I forget the exact quote or where I read it but it’s a good reality check for most things, including getting older.
“We were never as good as our fans thought we were and we were never as bad as the critics said we were”, a member of NKOTB said. Granted you have to take out ‘fans’ and ‘critics’, but once that’s done the sentence is easily transferable as a metaphor for life.
Does the sentence imply that you should strive for average? To me it means that you just need to take everything with a grain of salt. Set the goals high, but accept that the good and bad things in life, regardless of what they may do, won’t break you. They might hurt you or give you a mental high, but it’s all about the dollar cost averaging of life, don’t put too much stock in any one thing.
When I was younger I thought that all of the older men were fat and bald. Now that I’m an older man I realize that every older man isn’t fat or bald and that it wouldn’t matter if they were.
I’ve heard parents say that the current age of their children is their favorite. The ‘current’ age is just that, whatever age their child is now. The temper meltdowns and times that the dog eats the trash can full of diapers can all be nullified by using the wisdom of The New Kids on the Block.
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Never heard of the New Kids On the Block…kidding. Given I’m a decade or more older than you and JB, I have sage wisdom since passing the half-way point of my life LONG ago…
Enjoy every day to the max!
Happy Father’s Day!
Indeed, Happy Father’s Day to you too sir. With one going across the country for university will you be looking for hobbies to occupy your time with?
Nah, my plate is already too full! And, my wife has finally co-erced me to take up golf…THAT will take some time to learn, for sure!