REFLECTIONS ON MY 82nd BIRTHDAY
Aging is a bit like riding a roller coaster called "the Beast." When you are young, getting to the top is very slow and you grow impatient as you wait to get older and older, but once you get to the top of the highest hill (middle age) and go over the top, you start going down hill with more and more speed until you finally get to the end and have to get off!
For some, the whole ride is fiercely scary, filled with mostly screaming and a white-knuckled hanging on for dear life! For others, the ride is mostly fun - one screaming white-knuckled hanging on thrill-ride after another! Some are happy that it's over, while others want to do it all over again! While being very grateful for the many wonderful experiences, I am certainly not pushing to repeat it. However, I am content to coast a while toward the exit, savoring what I have just been through, without any hurry to get off this ride.
However, I am more than happy with myself that I got up enough courage to take on "The Beast" a few times in the first place. I am more than happy to have had the many intense experiences of its ups and downs, but rather than wanting to repeat another round of "The Beast," I am hoping to try a few more different "rides" that are not so steep and body-whipping - maybe a few age-appropriate "rides" like the "Merry-Go-Round" or the "Tea-Cup?"
Finally, when the time comes, I am looking forward to experiencing the next "thrill ride" waiting to be tried in the "great beyond" after I have had a few years to reflect on, and savor, my last great "thrill ride" called "The Beast!"
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