"TOO SOON OLD"

 

“TOO SOON OLD….”

 

We’ve all heard that saying…. “ too soon old, too late smart”.

I could be the poster boy for this quotation. It has only taken me some 83+ years to realize some vital thoughts about myself. “too late smart” indeed!

Yesterday, my wife and I drove to Waco, Texas for a doctor’s appointment. No big deal, no problem, just about 50 miles each way. Stopped and had lunch with some friends and came home.

Very peaceful and enjoyable.

I wake up this morning about 5AM and as I am drinking my coffee, I am thinking back about yesterday’s trip. What made it so pleasant?

It dawned on me (“too late smart” again) that I was engaged with my wife of 50+ years in conversations about everything and about nothing. No stress, no agenda, no pressure, just mundane words about everything you could think about and enjoying the day.

So why was this different than any other day?

For #1, I have retired after 68 years of working and #2 I don’t have a lot to worry about. The amazing thing is that it has taken me over a year and a half to come to grips with it and jus roll with the tide.

We don’t have any health issues, which is a major blessing in and of itself and our finances are ok for what we need. I can’t think of a thing I really need.

So, what happened?

Well, I think we (meaning all of us) live with such stress in our lives that we don’t know how to just stop and take a breath and relax. The pressures we put ourselves under with jobs we don’t like or work that seems impossible to produce along with the stress of family and friends’ relationships takes more of our time than we have.

We want to succeed in our work environment. We want our kids to be happy and successful. We want to maintain good, caring relationships with our extended family and our friends. But who has the time and energy for all of the stresses we put upon ourselves? All of us have the same number of hours in a day, don’t we?

But, fear not, Professor Perry is here to give you some words of wisdom for your use (free of charge).

Try and focus your energy on things you can fix and stop worrying or filling up your limited brain space with things beyond your control. You (nor I) can do anything about those folks in Washington D.C. except vote. We can’t do anything about the turmoil in other parts of the world either, can we?

We can be kinder to our neighbors, listen to our kids more and call or visit our old parents. After they are dead, you will regret not having visited more with them. Call someone you haven’t talked to in many months. Try and listen to them and encourage them with your support. Often you will find you are much better off than a lot of others out there which will go a long way towards making you appreciate your life.

In short, accent the positive and eliminate the negative. I think someone wrote a song about that.

Enjoy your time here on planet Earth, don’t wait around until you are too old to hug each other or take a simple road trip together on a sunny day.

The days go much faster the older you get.

See you next week, don’t forget to subscribe….Peary Perry