Has anyone else noticed that the days around here are finally filled with more light than dark? YAHOO, COME ON, SPRING! Sorry about that emotional outburst, but after four months of driving to and from work in the dark, I just couldn’t help but let a whoop go.

It’s amazing how connected we are to Mother Nature; her cyclical seasons propel all of us through life… life is indeed a circle.

Years ago I remember seeing myself on television, and this stark white glare was emanating from the top of my head. I figured there must have been some really bad lighting on the television set until I looked in the mirror and discovered a large bald streak in my hair.

Then there was that time when my mom came out of cataract surgery; she looked at my dad and remarked, “Chub, when did you get all those wrinkles?”

I recall my Aunt Margeret who loved to golf, bowl and quaff a daily jolt of Crown Royal telling me during her last days, “Getting old sure ain’t for sissies.”

Then there was my Grandma Cora who smoked cigarettes and occasionally quaffed a shot of medicinal vodka that helped her smile far into her 80s. Whenever we’d get together she’d get us all singing, “Why don’t we do this more often, just like we’re doin’ tonite.”

And then there’s my dad, whose health eventually made him drop all his bad, but fun, habits. Eventually he had to avoid what he called excita-ments. When I’d share what I thought was a big problem, he’d look at me and tell me not to sweat the small stuff and, by the way, it’s all small stuff. He’d usually finish off his advice with “You know son, the first 100 years of your life will be the hardest.” My dad was right about a lot of things.

Then along came my grandchildren who turned me into Grandpa Dan, and I’ve been sleeping with a Grandma ever since.

And despite the fact that I’m creeping from senior toward elderly I’m still not very good at acting my age. Most days I’m too busy just being me, and a big part of me seems to be composed of an inner child who’s grateful to be here at all.  

So as the sun rises and sets, causing the seasons to change and the years to roll on by, I can’t help but think that our body sure ages a lot faster than our soul.

Usually I only look in the mirror once a day to shave and comb what’s left of my hair. From there on I have to settle on the fact that there ain’t much I can do about this aging body I seem to be trapped in… yet there are many times when I wonder where I’m gonna end up when the dang thing wears out.

Do I get another body in the next life or is this life all there is? How come nobody knows for sure? Geez, if I’d a known I was gonna need this body for this long I’d a taken better care of it…

Mayhaps we should avoid such excita-ments because once we’re here we have no choice but to ride it out; if you’ve been granted this gift we call life then you will experience this other thing called death. Maybe the point to it all is to do something meaningful whilst you’re here because once you’re here you have no choice about going there. So as the seasons change and rearrange and the years keep rollin’ by, here’s hoping that whatever you do while you’re here gets you to wherever you’re s’posed to be… safe travels…