What am I going to write about? I’m not sure. I just sat down at my desk and started pecking on my laptop. It’s Thanksgiving Day morning. I got up at five, as normal, looked at my cell phone to check the weather, and the internet was down. That would, on most days, be an omen for me, but it’s Thanksgiving Day. The living room TV is connected to the internet, but that wasn’t a problem. I have an HD antenna connected to the TV in my office, along with a Fire Stick. So, checking the weather, not a problem. I really didn’t have to check the weather, since I was only going to the kitchen to finish cooking for today’s meal. I started preparing gastronomical weapons last night. I must wrap up a few things. A couple of days ago, I dreaded the thought of cooking and cleaning up after the process. (I must be losing the battle against old-age grumpiness.) This morning, I got out of bed excited about the thought of cooking, having members of my gang (family)) over, eating too much and enjoying the day.  

I’m going to enjoy all the God-given blessings coming my way on this fine day. This old, well-used body of mine will probably be too tired to rest tonight, but that’s okay. All I experience today is what memories are made of. After I’m with my maker, there’ll be a grandchild recalling this day at a time in the future. They’ll romanticize it for all it’s worth. And they should. Good legacies need a little seasoning to make them go down well.

My prayer on this day is that you have at least one thing to be thankful for. God bless you.

That’s all, folks. I’ve got to get back to some legacy building.

I’m old and blessed…hope you will be too.

P. S. I just remembered; the internet is still down. I wanted to post this after I finished it; however, I’ll do it later.

If you live long enough, there’s a good chance you’ll begin losing some things that have been precious to you. Although I’m relatively healthy, my body isn’t what it used to be. I’m living with cancer. I take an oral chemo pill daily that does an excellent job of keeping cancer at bay. Meanwhile, I can still exercise daily with a fair amount of stress to build muscle and maintain good cardio health.

A few minutes ago, I started thinking of a balance sheet with liabilities on one side and assets on the opposite side. When I apply a balance sheet metaphorically to my life, I can’t help but think about all the things that have depreciated in functionality physically. I can’t hear as well as I used to. My eyesight has loss some of its luster. I’m not legally blind yet, but those big green signs on the freeway are now mostly big green blobs until I get close upon them. Fortunately, I can still see the big stuff, trucks, cars, trees, people, things you don’t want to hit.

Are you depressed yet? Well, let me lighten things up a bit. I’m glad to say that the other side of my balance sheet has far more entries on it than what I’ve been enumerating so far. The most impressive entry is that I’m still here at seventy-four years of age. I wouldn’t have placed a bet on that being the case twenty-four years ago. If you’ve been following me, you know my story. I won’t go into it; however, I will say that living with cancer isn’t all bad. My mind is still working well, for a seventy-four-year-old. Although I’ve been retired for the last eleven years, I’m not bored with life in the least bit. I have a purpose in life. I’ve got a family who love me, and I can depend on them if the potholes in my life-journey road gets a bit too deep. To top it all off, I’m confident I have God who wants the best for me.

If you ever find yourself thinking that life is getting too heavy, take a good look at your balance sheet. You might find that things aren’t as bad as you think they are.

I’m old and blessed…hope you will be too.

In the almost eight years that I have been blogging, I’ve made it a point to not write indiscriminately about my family. I’m careful about what I write because I don’t want to violate their privacy unnecessarily. I’ve even begun on several occasions to write several pieces but chosen to keep them in my personal notes. Something just happened to my son that I must write about and publish. I’m sure he won’t mind me sharing the following thoughts.

My youngest child, my thirty-year-old son, has had enumerable challenges in life, a good portion of them can connected to the choices he’s made. I think I can say that and not be concerned that he might be upset with such characterizing. In the last five years of so, I’ve seen him mature in many ways; ways that have brought him to the point where he would agree with that assessment. My son just called me to tell me that someone texting and driving rear ended him. It looks like the accident totaled his car. He had spent a considerable amount of time, energy and money working on that car to get it to good working order. He had a new motor installed, and he had invested a frustratingly large amount of sweat equity by doing several repairs himself. My son has mechanical skills that he certainly didn’t inherit from me.

My son is one of those struggling millennials that we hear so much about. Although opportunities to get ahead are often rare, he is steadfast in keeping his nose to the grindstone, working hard and never giving up. There was a time when he would’ve allowed anger to consume him after experiencing what he just called me about. However, now his response was, “It is what it is.’ You might say what else he could say. If you did say that you don’t know my younger son. The fact that the driver who totaled his car had insurance contributed to his mature attitude about this unfortunate incident just a month before Christmas. To be honest, it helped with my attitude for sure.

Sometimes, it seems like life is abundantly fruitful; however, who wants lemons most of the time. If you have a good supply of sugar and water, you can enjoy lemonade for just as abundantly. You might find this a strange thing to say, but I’m proud of my son and glad to see that he’s learned that life doesn’t always offer the greatest in accommodation. This is another one of the blessings that I’m often writing about.

I’m old and blessed…hope you will be too.