Living in the Moment

 

In a phone conversation with my 75 year old father yesterday morning he commented that he needs to plan his next vacation trip this fall instead of waiting until the spring because he turns 76 in late October and no man in his family has ever lived past the age of 76. I told him that he will be the first and no matter how old we are, all each of us has is this very moment.

Later the same day I was face timing with a friend who turns 70 this year and although she has a strong faith and is generally optimistic, she admitted it is hard not to think about her "shelf time" getting shorter.

Myself, I will be turning 56 next month and will be closer to 60 than 50. Maybe it is hormones, maybe it is getting older and these thoughts are normal - but I also feel a bit of selfishness creeping in about how I spend my moments. 

Last night was date night - as it has been for years. On date nights we tend to get a little dressed up and pay a little more attention to how we look - generally the only night I will put on more than just mascara. Through the years with young children it would mean getting them fed early and watching a movie, while we would enjoy a quiet dinner and then get them to bed and enjoy wine and a movie ourselves. Now that we live close to a sweet coastal town, we have been generally going out  - hoping to get seats right by the water and have a locally made beer with some live music playing. 

Last night was one of the rare nights where the air was even warmer than 12 minutes inland where we live and the sun was shining and the sky a clear blue with a warm breeze blowing - truly perfect. After we left the wharf restaurant we walked a bit and found some more local music playing at another restaurant outside. We were able to stand on the outskirts with the bay behind us and the sun setting on our right side and Mike (my husband) was standing on the curbing elevated behind me, massaging my shoulders. For those moments everything felt perfect - like a slice of heaven.