The Gap Year
Reflection #59 Counting the Years
Do you realize that the only time in our lives when we like to get old is when we're kids? If you're less than ten years old, you're so excited about aging that you think in fractions. “How old are you?” “I'm four and a half.” You're four and a half going on five.
You get into your teens, and you simply jump to the next number. “How old are you?” “I'm gonna be 16.” You could be 13, but you're gonna be 16. Eventually.
Then the long-awaited day arrives, and you become 18 or 21. Even the words sound like a celebration. You BECOME 18 or 21!! Then you TURN 30. What happened there? Makes you sound like bad milk. She TURNED; we had to throw her out. You're PUSHING 40. You REACH 50. Then you MAKE IT to 60. By then you've built up so much speed, you HIT 70. After that, it's a day-by-day thing. You HIT Wednesday and it feels like the week is almost gone. You get into your 80's; you HIT lunch, you HIT 4:30. And it doesn't end there… Into the '90s, you start going backward. “I was JUST 92.” Then a strange thing happens; if you make it over 100, you become a little kid again. “I'm 100 and a half.”
I stop and think. Hum, I’m turning such-and-such this year. Whatever age I am, I know that each new decade is a season of opportunity.
So, today’s lesson to myself: live fully in each decade.
Now it’s your turn.
Take time to reflect and, if in a group, share as you feel able.
As I reflect on the different times of my life:
I still recall my childhood birthdays, and this is what I remember.
as a teenager, I felt that what was most important was…
here is what I recall when I turned 21.
what I appreciate most at this juncture of my life is...