It has been over a year since my last blog post. Last time I left you I was sitting on a pile of rocks at 14,000 feet above sea level on the Quandary Peak Trail outside of Breckenridge Colorado. It was my first 14ker! Much has happened in the last year and a few months. One, I never made it to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro, that I was training for. The reason for the climb, raising money for a charity to build a school, dissipated. I sold the company that I worked for fifty years and owned for half that time on January 1st of this year. I “semi” retired. Fully retired to me is sitting at home doing nothing. That is not me. I am now a part-time travel advisor, booking trips for my friends, while traveling the world looking to experience travel FIRSTS! Each day I wake up and go online to learn something about the travel business through online learning provided to me by my agency. I spend time watching my grandkids. Once the weather warms, I have plans to golf with my group, along with a few golf trips. And I just signed up yesterday for membership in the South Jersey Camera Club, to pursue my interest, and gain knowledge in taking photos. I submitted the photo above for this month’s competition for Light and Shadow. Oh, and I watch my 90-year-old mother, who lives with us, and has dementia – a full-time job. I’m busy, with a purpose.
I recently watched a Netflix special of Final Last Words, it is a show that records interviews with famous people, prior to their death, that is released after their death. It is an interesting, thought-provoking series. The actor Eric Dane had just passed and was featured. At the end of the interview the host left the room to leave Mr. Dane alone for his final words. Eric who had ALS and very frail, looked in the camera and addressed his two daughters with the following 4 points to live by…
- Live NOW – in the present
- Find Love – your passion, purpose, joy, and people
- Choose Friends wisely – give & show up for them
- Fight – until your last breath with honesty, integrity & grace
It was heartbreaking and real. None of us are getting out of here alive, so we might as well live it the best we can. I couldn’t agree more with what he told his daughters. At 67 and healthy, I’m doing what my father advised me on his death bed – “do it while you can.” You never know how much time you have and if you’ll be healthy to enjoy it. I’m living NOW. Grateful for every day. Grateful for every FIRST I am able to experience! Hopefully you join me on the journey…