EVERY DAY IS A GIFT

I turned 77 on Wednesday, November 8, 2023. I have now lived 3 years longer than my father who died before his 74th birthday in 1993. 

If I get to live past my 84th birthday I will match my mother’s lifespan. 

As I reflect on my time here on this planet, I am convinced that I have accomplished only a small fraction of the goals I aspired to in my youth. I have made countless mistakes. While I am grateful for the lessons each mistake taught me, I cannot help but feel a little wistful for the time squandered and lost. 

Horace Mann said “Lost, yesterday, somewhere between sunrise and sunset, two golden hours, each set with sixty diamond minutes. No reward is offered for they are gone forever.”

Now I understand the wisdom of the words “time is the only equal opportunity employer.”

I still work because I enjoy working. We all need a reason to get up in the morning. I get up at 5 am, exercise a little and go to work. I try to add a little joy to the lives of everyone I meet. I try to treat everyone with kindness and dignity. I am convinced that the only reason I’m still alive is that my job is not done yet.

I used to think that I was somehow a very important person and I wanted everyone to look and see what I had accomplished.

I hereby acknowledge the gifts I have received that are solely the result of grace in my life. So many good things have happened to me.

Now I can only say – “look where I have been led!”