Anyway, I remember like it was -- I don't know -- four years ago, when Skinny Grandma turned 55. And I vividly recall that I felt mournful, sad and confused. I mean, why in the world were we celebrating and singing and eating cake? 55 years old! Are you kidding me? At that old age, surely we should be planning her funeral. I was convinced that she and Grandpa (we did not call him Skinny Grandpa) were not long for this Earthly world, that they'd be going to heaven soon...within months, certainly within the year!
I can picture so clearly the five of us grandkids in the back yard of their pinkish adobe house (wasn't it?) in San Bernardino, California, cavorting and frolicking and singing around sweet Skinny Grandma as she made her wish and blew out the candles on her birthday cake. And since she was, after all, knocking on death's door, I remember feeling so relieved that she had to blow out only five candles.
Reality, thankfully, proved my thoughts and fears wrong. She indeed wasn't decrepit, or past her prime, or close to meeting her expiration date. She remained active, healthy and vibrant for many, many years thereafter.
But here's the irony of life, or more accurately, the circle of life. Now it's my turn. In six months and two days, I turn 55.
OMGsh!
But it's all good...
I no longer look at 55 with horror and fear, through 7-year-old eyes, like I did with Skinny Grandma. And in 10 years, when I'm 65, I bet you anything I'll look back longingly at my "young" 55-year-old self, wondering where the time went. You know what I mean?
It's all relative.
It is what it is.
Savor the moments.
And remember...THESE are the good old days.
No comments:
Post a Comment