Remember when you were little and everything seemed so far away? You had to wait an eternity for your birthday or summer vacation or Halloween or Christmas or even for school to get out for the day. The clock moved ever so slowly.

Then you get over the hill, so to speak, and you are suddenly on what I call the Downhill Slide. Time is moving so fast you can’t believe another year, another birthday are past. Your children are suddenly grown up and you have grandchildren and they are suddenly grown up and you don’t have time to do all the things you want to do in this life and it’s all moving way too fast as you slide down, down, down.

I was having this panicky feeling that I wasn’t going to get everything done in this lifetime that I want to do. I’ve been racing to make sure I do what I can, hedging a bet that my body won’t give out before I’m finished. Maybe all this is because I retired a year ago this week. I worked on a lot of projects I wanted to finish at first and still have work to do. I keep adding to my list. There’s still not enough time.

I read an article this week that gave me some new perspective. It was an interview with about ten people who have reached the age of 100. They all looked great and were very active and doing all the things I like to do. They were involved with people, volunteering, living full lives. It made me stop and think because they didn’t seem to be worrying about not getting things done…they were just doing it.

Maybe because I’ve lost people close to me when they were young, I appreciate every year I have. Maybe, just maybe, there comes a time when you stop the rush of the downhill slide and come to terms with it all and find peace. You live out your life on a plateau without worrying about the end. You are just grateful and appreciate all the people and love in the world. So now I’m still on the slippery slide, but I can look forward to knowing I’ve reached the plateau where I have the perspective to enjoy, enjoy, enjoy.

There are a lot of things that can happen to stop the slide, none of them good, but I’m going to just keep on sliding towards that day when I can just relax and do it! God willin’ and the creek don’t rise…

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