Frankly there are days, more than less, that I feel as young and vibrant as I did as a girl.
- I love the sunshine on dewy morning grass between my toes
- I don't fret endlessly about a little rain
- I enjoy a first snowfall
- I'm intrigued by lightning and thunder
- ....well that covers the weather.
- I still think I can jump (I was a cheerleader for many years) at least I know the moves are in my head - the nerve to try it does lead to thoughts of the paramedics saying....."she was doing what?!"
- I still love, love, love dogs - I would have 3 or 4 if the practical side of that situation didn't pop up in my mind's eye and so pour all of my doggie love out on my one doggie pal, Riley.
- I still love ice cream
- Riding a bike
- Driving a car
- Singing praise Jesus songs with my arms in the air - (whoops, Episcopalians don't do that, do they?)
- I still love to munch on chicken bones like my Grandma taught me to do
- Indulge in just a great big bite of steak fat, like my uncles always did
- I remember long car trips (where car sickness was sometimes a problem) and knowing now to always face forward I find car trips more fun than ever
- I remember Red River summers and fishing for trout in a stream
- Horseback riding with no skill at all - only nerve -
- Square dancing with boys met at the dance
- Slow dancing to Elvis Presley songs on a record player
I'd say I still do or would still love those things if I had the occasion to frequent such activities.
I was always an optimistic, let's-be-friends sort of kid, and was sideswiped more than once in my life by a "friend" who was NOT! I never got used to that and can remember the tears vividly, letdowns from overly and misfed/misread expectations, but I learned. The same lessons came with a spoiled first marriage - I was in it to trust - that's a huge 'nother story. In business, a boss I wasn't crazy about occasionally, but still and all, I've remained as much an optimist now as I was as a first halfer.......remembering, looking back that first half can be beautiful in its naivete and also extraordinarily brutal in its let downs.....and hopefully one always has another chance in the first half.
And the second half, here it is, maybe more than the second half. I believe that in this part of my life that you and I are here now to recognize the lessons we've learned, to realize that we ARE to be the grown ups, the wise ones, the leaders, we ARE the persons others want to look up to, we ARE the ones who know more than we think we do, who ARE called to teach, to lead and to mentor others who have not yet found themselves. We ARE the people that we can work to make ourselves with God's help. We are the THEY that are the leaders and adults now........we just need to recognize that of ourselves and get about living it. We need to Celebrate - Live it!
Too much expectation for the second half? You don't want to lead, or teach or mentor, or exercise, or eat right, or read more, or study more, or work for a political candidate or cause, or go to church anymore, or take up a new hobby, or fly somewhere you've always dreamed of, or tried a yoga class because what would people think?.......The whole deal is, in my ever so humble opinion, is that other people don't think about you and I, (after all, we're old now) they think and worry about themselves so holding ourselves back because someone else might not agree with us can be a huge mistake for our bodies and our souls. So first half or second half - first half fly, fall down, get up, learn. And second half - fly, fall down, get up, and learn. Time's running out and think of the fun you could miss if you don't go for or it today!
