I wonder what I will be like in another 30 years. Will I be some cantankerous scrooge who hobbles around with a walker and makes my grandkids scared to death of me? Will I be sentenced to a wheelchair due to my Muscular Dystrophy and be wheeled around by my wife playing on the Bingo circuit? Will I be the suave gentleman at the local gym who compliments the ladies and makes the kids laugh at the hair growing out my ears?
Hell, will I still be around in another 30 years?
I have pretty much resigned myself to the fate the Leslie will outlive me. At 36, I am already limping around with knees that have no cartilage anymore and will probably have to be replaced in time. Did I mention that I have had a heart murmur since I was a child? And don't even get me started on my pedigree...
- I've lost two grandparents to Alzheimer's.
- Another grandparent to a stroke.
- My mother due to ovarian cancer.
I tease my father sometimes by telling him how screwed I was thanks to him and my mom. Between the two families they have all of the fatality bases covered - it's just a matter of fate picking which one I will land on.
So as I was sitting in the recliner feeling sorry for myself a few weeks ago, flipping through the channels of the TV in some kind of pity-induced intoxication, I stumbled upon one of my favorite movies of all-time - "Shawshank Redemption". I have seen the movie dozens of times and it remains one of the few films that draws me in no matter how much is left or what mood I am in.
This day was no exception, as Red had just been released from prison and was struggling with how to deal with what the outside world was like after spending 40 years behind bars. After following through on his promise to his friend Andy, Red repeats a phrase Andy used earlier in the movie in a way that only Morgan Freeman could deliver it...
Well said Mr. Freeman, well said. Time to get busy living.
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3 comments:
I think about things like that a lot. I understand how you feel. My mother, grandmother and aunt died of ovarian cancer.I have high blood pressure. I'm 11 years older than my husband who is only 50 and sometimes I think about the facts. Do I have another 10 years left? Do I want to? All I can say is just do the best you can cause you never know what is left. Don't pity the past, but don't plan far ahead, stay in the moment. BTW I loved that movie too and Morgan Freeman is one of my favorites (even in his Electric Company days)
Amen to that.
I can only say that every single day is gift. Gift from god. And no meter how that day can be hard or easy we forgot one thing. That is that we forgot to enjoy in that day.
Nina
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