SEVENTY-FIVE

 

Seventy-five, or 75, either way it’s a rather nice number, combining the number 7 with my favorite number, number 5.  Maybe that is why I have treated this latest birthday with so much of optimism and enthusiasm.  Gone is the gloom and doom that was seeping into my mind a few years ago, when I felt the best years of my life were behind me.  It is true that lost opportunities cannot be recovered, but in their place is a most remarkable new opportunity: the chance to pursue dreams with a freedom and abandonment that is unfettered by the responsibilities of youth.  I have promised myself to take advantage of this opportunity with my newly re-claimed vim and vigor, meaning only one nap a day and staying awake until at least 9:30 every night.

I have done my share of looking back, and will continue to do so because the past is rich with memories that I cherish, but the real focus will be on what is yet to come.  What make this time so unique and unlike the past is not having to share time and energy with so many other issues and tasks.  There is a narrower and sharper focus that is enhanced by the uncertainty of the future.  Every day, every week, every month is a gift.

I have a pretty clear idea of what I want to accomplish, and have set out to do so, one day at a time.  For this I am most grateful.