Thanks for sharing this, Ken. I think you have captured the thoughts and feelings that many of us are experiencing as we face our senior years. Time just keeps marching along and suddenly so many of our loved ones are gone. This "season" of our lives was always so far off in the future that we seldom REALLY thought about what it would be like. Or, if we did think about it, we disregarded the reality of the losses that grow exponentially.
There are benefits with the "season" as well. There's a formula I learned many years ago, and it holds true: Knowledge + Understanding + Experience = Wisdom
Thank you Lois. Accepting the reality is something I kind of missed, thanks for saying it. Your equation for wisdom is on the mark. I really think the biggest part of that is understanding. Without it the knowledge and experience is just a little empty.
Precisely, Ken. And I think Wisdom can only come after the other three are in place. Perhaps that is why it takes so many decades of living the figure out there’s a LOT we don’t understand!
I wish I could give you some words of wisdom for my 72 years of living but forgetting or forgiving is sometimes a hard thing to do. Things your family did or did not do are the hardest to forgive but an employer is sometimes the easiest, but you just don't want to, and I am retired but still remember.
Hello Ken. I really enjoyed reading your post --I hope it will be healing for you. Most times when we write about things that have hurt us in the past, or bother us now, it's cleansing. To read the words we've written, we are facing it head on. That's the part that's cleansing. Never bury hurt.
Thank you very much for the mention and the quote from my poem, "Time to Remember", yesterday. If it helped you, then my purpose for writing it was satisfied.
Thank you for your comments. It’s all true and you’re correct, that is the purpose, to get it out and not hold back. Without question, you always help me. There’s no doubt about that !
I understand totally, the feeling that what may have been, if I had made one decision differently. I don’t hate my life but I do hate some things I did and didn’t do. I have 3 wonderful children, we have 15 grandchildren. I’m fortunate enough to still have 5 sisters but have lost my only brother. I have missed my mother since 95 and dad passed in 2010. I felt like I lost the rock that supplied the stability in my life. But some wonderful things have happened to me including the marriage to my wife, who happened to be the first girl I kissed. Like you Ken there were opportunities missed for whatever reason, I’ve also lost most interest in sports except when it’s the kids.
Joy has been stolen from my enjoyment of professional sports which I loved to much throughout my life. My week was made better if it started with a win by the Cowboys. The Houston teams after my 40th year finally won a championship or two, thanks to the Rockets and Astros.
I realized after a double bypass that I couldn’t care less about the outcome of the game, and can now not even watch thanks to a group of players that I now longer respect.
Every Christmas my sisters get together for an evening, it maybe the only time we see each other all year yet it’s a tradition that goes back to the 60’s when mom insisted we get together. It’s an honor to her and dad that all these years later we still have that day together. As we age I know things will change, my oldest sister is 80 and seems to be doing well. Like you said there are no promises of tomorrow and my plans seem to change with God’s will. He has control of me and I’m so thankful 🙏✌️
Thoughts of mortality creep in when you’re our age—it’s inevitable. As the losses of loved ones mount, what helps me is to remember a special moment or two with them—and smile—or laugh. It lightens the load and helps me feel gratitude for the blessing of having today—and maybe by sharing today through my eyes—somewhere somehow they hear it or see it or feel it and they smile and laugh wherever they are now 🙏
Thank you for sharing your heart. Very relatable!! I’ve been wondering about similar things.
The photo is spot on also and reminded me of a post I’m currently working on about my muse, melancholy.
Thanks. I’ll be looking for your post!
Thanks for sharing this, Ken. I think you have captured the thoughts and feelings that many of us are experiencing as we face our senior years. Time just keeps marching along and suddenly so many of our loved ones are gone. This "season" of our lives was always so far off in the future that we seldom REALLY thought about what it would be like. Or, if we did think about it, we disregarded the reality of the losses that grow exponentially.
There are benefits with the "season" as well. There's a formula I learned many years ago, and it holds true: Knowledge + Understanding + Experience = Wisdom
Your writing reflects the Wisdom you have gained.
Best to you!
Thank you Lois. Accepting the reality is something I kind of missed, thanks for saying it. Your equation for wisdom is on the mark. I really think the biggest part of that is understanding. Without it the knowledge and experience is just a little empty.
Precisely, Ken. And I think Wisdom can only come after the other three are in place. Perhaps that is why it takes so many decades of living the figure out there’s a LOT we don’t understand!
I wish I could give you some words of wisdom for my 72 years of living but forgetting or forgiving is sometimes a hard thing to do. Things your family did or did not do are the hardest to forgive but an employer is sometimes the easiest, but you just don't want to, and I am retired but still remember.
Hello Ken. I really enjoyed reading your post --I hope it will be healing for you. Most times when we write about things that have hurt us in the past, or bother us now, it's cleansing. To read the words we've written, we are facing it head on. That's the part that's cleansing. Never bury hurt.
Thank you very much for the mention and the quote from my poem, "Time to Remember", yesterday. If it helped you, then my purpose for writing it was satisfied.
hugs
Thank you for your comments. It’s all true and you’re correct, that is the purpose, to get it out and not hold back. Without question, you always help me. There’s no doubt about that !
That’s what friends do, Ken. Thank you for your support and your trust.
hugs
I understand totally, the feeling that what may have been, if I had made one decision differently. I don’t hate my life but I do hate some things I did and didn’t do. I have 3 wonderful children, we have 15 grandchildren. I’m fortunate enough to still have 5 sisters but have lost my only brother. I have missed my mother since 95 and dad passed in 2010. I felt like I lost the rock that supplied the stability in my life. But some wonderful things have happened to me including the marriage to my wife, who happened to be the first girl I kissed. Like you Ken there were opportunities missed for whatever reason, I’ve also lost most interest in sports except when it’s the kids.
Joy has been stolen from my enjoyment of professional sports which I loved to much throughout my life. My week was made better if it started with a win by the Cowboys. The Houston teams after my 40th year finally won a championship or two, thanks to the Rockets and Astros.
I realized after a double bypass that I couldn’t care less about the outcome of the game, and can now not even watch thanks to a group of players that I now longer respect.
Every Christmas my sisters get together for an evening, it maybe the only time we see each other all year yet it’s a tradition that goes back to the 60’s when mom insisted we get together. It’s an honor to her and dad that all these years later we still have that day together. As we age I know things will change, my oldest sister is 80 and seems to be doing well. Like you said there are no promises of tomorrow and my plans seem to change with God’s will. He has control of me and I’m so thankful 🙏✌️
Thanks John. I used to have the Christmas traditions too !
Thoughts of mortality creep in when you’re our age—it’s inevitable. As the losses of loved ones mount, what helps me is to remember a special moment or two with them—and smile—or laugh. It lightens the load and helps me feel gratitude for the blessing of having today—and maybe by sharing today through my eyes—somewhere somehow they hear it or see it or feel it and they smile and laugh wherever they are now 🙏
Thanks Dee. I like that you try to communicate, if only through thoughts, to the lost loved ones. Hopefully you get a few replies 😇