THE BACK NINE
THE BACK NINE
I first started reading this email and was reading fast until I reached the third sentence. I stopped and started over, reading slower and thinking about every word. This email is very thought-provoking – it makes you stop and think. READ SLOWLY !
AND THEN IT WAS WINTER
You know … time has a way of moving quickly and catching you unaware of the passing years. It seem just yesterday that I was young, just married and embarking on my new life with my mate. Yet in a way, it seems like eons ago, and I wonder where all the years went. I know that I lived them all. I have glimpses of how it was back then and of all my hopes and dreams.
But, here it is … the back nine of my life and it catches me by surprise … how did I get here so fast? Where did the years go and where did my youth go?
I remember well seeing older people through the years and thinking that those older people were years away from me, and that I was only on the first hole and the back nine was so far off that I could not fathom it or imagine fully what it would be like.
But, here it is … my friends are retired and getting grey … they move slower and I see an older person now. Some are in better and some in worse shape than me … but, I see the great change … not like the ones that I remember who were young and vibrant … but, like me, their age is beginning to show and we are now those older folks that we used to see and never thought we would become.
Each day now, some friends find that just having a shower is a real target for the day! And taking a nap is not a treat anymore … it’s mandatory! Because if I don’t on my own free will … I just fall asleep where I sit!
And so … now I enter into this new season of my life, unprepared for all the aches and pains and the loss of strength and ability to go and do things that I wish I had done but never did!! But, at least I know that, although I’m on the back nine, and I’m not sure how long it will last … this I do know, that when it’s over on this earth … it’s over. A new adventure will begin! Yes, I have regrets. There are things I wish I hadn’t done … ; things I should have done; but indeed, there are many things I’m happy to have done. It’s all in a lifetime.
So, if you’re not on the back nine yet … let me remind you, that it will be here faster than you think. so, whatever you would like to accomplish in your life, please do it quickly! Don’t put things off too long!! Life goes by quickly. So, do what you can today, as you can never be sure whether you’re on the back nine or not!
You have no promise that you will see all the seasons of your life … so, live for today and say all the things that you want your loved ones to remember … and hope that they appreciate and love you for all the things that you have done for them in all the years past!!
“Life’s” is a gift to you. The way you live your life is your gift to those who come after. Make it a fantastic one. LIVE IT WELL! ENJOY TODAY! DO SOMETHING FUN!BE HAPPY! HAVE A GREAT DAY! And remember, “it’s health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver”. LIVE HAPPY!
LASTLY, CONSIDER THIS:
~ Your kids are becoming you … but your grandchildren are perfect!
~ Going out is good … coming home is better!
~ You forget names … but it’s okay because some people forgot they even knew you!!!
~ You realize you’re never going to be really good at anything like golf
~ The things you used to care to do, you aren’t as interested in anymore, but you really don’t care that you aren’t as interested.
~ You sleep better on a lounge chair with the TV ‘ON’ than in bed. It’s called “pre-sleep”.
~ You miss the days when everything worked with just an “ON” and “OFF” switch.
~ You tend to use more four-letter words … like “what?” and “when?” … ???
~ You notice everything they sell in stores is “sleeveless”.
~ What used to be freckles and now liver spots.
~ Everybody whispers.
~ You have 3 sizes of clothes in your closet … 2 of which you will never wear.
~But Old is good in some things … Old Songs, Old Movies, and best of all, OLD FRIENDS !!
Stay well, “OLD FRIENDS!” And feel free to send this on to other “Old Friends!” Let them laugh in AGREEMENT!!! It’s Not What You Gather, But What You Scatter That Tells What Kind Of Life You Have Lived.
TODAY IS THE OLDEST YOU’VE EVER BEEN, YET THE YOUNGEST YOU’LL EVER BE, SO ENJOY THIS DAY WHILE IT LASTS.
Do Not Regret Growing Older, It is a Privilege Denied to Many.
What a nice, interesting blog is this my friend? Your lines lead me back in times I’ve already forgotten I lived. Thank you very much for it.
Once I thought it wouldn’t be a bad idea to have a mini video camera installed in my mind for when situation in my life appears I vaguely remember, I could hark back to it.
What a great sentence; …and do things that I wish I had done but never did ! In good or in bad no matter when.
You know Forever, that’s why I have stored good musice of a great time in my memories and pics in combination which match different stages of my life.
I can be the smell of the spring that leads me back to various places I’ve been to.
Or the perfume ladies have been scented with, or the pleasent smell of food that leaves a flat or comes out of the open door of a restaurant, all that provides me with sequences in my life, or of times that have gone by.
Yes, yes, yes, the last two sentences in your blog expresses the real truth of / in life we should remember,!! more often !! Michael
Lovely reply Michael : )
Forever young … I began to read it as normal, and then got to your words and read it again slowly and I did …. yes very thought provoking … where do those years go where we giggled and had fun, not a pain in our body unless it was because we danced the night away … very true the times and age catch up, perhaps we can manage the last dance of the evening, as the young ones pull their faces as we who once were them see us as the ‘Old Ones’ lol we can say … ‘ Been there done that’ .. ‘And we were better’ ha ha !!! how times have changed : ( but we have our memories : ) One day those young ones will take ‘Our Place’ and we gently move over and let them take centre stage when our lights go out ….. Loved the … Lastly consider this, so funny but so true … Well done on such a lovely tribute to the people getting older … we have our memories and they one day will have theirs …. lets all meet up ( Us oldies ha ha ) when the lights go out and we will have one bloody good disco up there above the clouds ha ha !!! x
I dont normally read long blogs FY2…..Short attention span,you know…..But I,m really really glad I read yours.
Fanks for makin me fink.
Cap x
Thank you vonMichael, Trixibell and Cappuccino for your lovely comments. Where did the time go ???? Looking forward Trixibell to that Disco in the Clouds where we will all reminisce on the good times we had 🙂 🙂 xoxo
If you are on the Back Nine, I suppose that puts me IN The Clubhouse. It is here I will reflect on the game I played. The putts I should have holed. The rough I should have seen. Times I should have been more daring, and driven for the flag. Straight down the middle. The times I lost a ball, and even dropping one in the lake. Gosh, it’s all there.
I have marked my card, but chose not to hand it in, just yet. Unfortunately, I am not allowed to begin again, from hole No 1. Otherwise I would. Even then, I would probably arrive at The Clubhouse, with exactly the same result.Ahh well! Cheers.
Yes FYT life has a habit I of moving on fast and we get caught up in it don’t realise it’s happened till it’s too late .Reminds me of my Dad once I asked him “Why he didn’t go down the street nowdays,like he used to for hours,
and sit on the bench chat to all his mates”He replied ” Well girl it’s seems that I have just lived too long they have all died”That made me realise that growing old had lots of disappointments that I now seem to be living myself.Thanks for blog xxxxx
Wow! what a wonderful lesson there is for all of us in the back nine blog. What a shame that many people may look at it first time and think it is too long for me to wade through – Maybe eyesight is on the wain, or the ability to concentrate is just too much – but having made a few attempts to concentrate that long, I am now of the opinion that it would be a credit to any clergyman or “guest Speaker” to extend this story a little more, for it does have a message for us all – particularly those of my generation who are already further down the last nine than we like to admit.
Thanks for making me think. Kind regards Drummer.
Thanks for the blog that we all or most of us understand and experience, but while some of us pass the rubbing alcohol, other people are running for President or running the senior marathon or some such. What could be our last HURRAH. Could we write a book, or plant a garden, or start a campaign? I just made a shaker of mint juleps for me and my young folks. Next year, we have more of that to look forward to and some of us won’t last that long. Lets still do things worth remembering. Write something, Make something, build something. cook something that will be remembered. We nap, but before we nap, lets make them know that we were awake.