Here we go again, “What are five things you’re grateful for today?” The five things that come to mind are family, community, experiences, expectations, and well-being.
I am blessed with the most wonderful family one can imagine. No, they are not perfect, but they have proven themselves to be resilient, worthy, and tenacious. By that, I mean every one of us has faced his or her challenges in some ways and came through the storm. Given the size of the family in question, the details would fill a book, but all that is necessary to say is they all kept, or keep, knocking.
By community, I mean friends, acquaintances, and colleagues who showed themselves to be honorable, dependable, and trustworthy over the years. Yes, there have been those who for one reason or another proved themselves to be “less than” at times, but even they contributed in some fashion to the quality of life the rest of us enjoy.
As for experiences, I have been blessed to experience things ranging from euphoric to devastating. From experiences that left me shaking and barely able to stand to those that made me feel as if I was flying. I’ve jumped out of airplanes, watched icebergs calve, helped people overcome their demons, and buried my baby brother in his flag-draped casket to a twenty-one gun salute. Those and many more experiences helped make me the man writing this piece today.
I am at a time in life where reality could end my expectations before you read this. Still, I have places left to see, things left to do, and time left to share with my loved ones. How much time, only God knows, but until I cannot go any further, I’ll keep chugging away at meeting those expectations.
Of course, that last thing on my list, well-being, will have an impact on how many of my expectations I meet. So far, I have survived two attempts by COVID to knock me down, and I do have those issues that come with age and misspent youth. And, yes, I have my vices, ice cream, rich foods, and a few adult beverages at times, but I balance them with regular workouts and some darn fine doctors.
© oneoldcop.com – 2022
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