85 Summers
There are a few recurring themes in books and in movies. There’s the girl marries the prince story. There’s good triumphing over evil. There’s someone overcoming personal adversity. You get the idea. We’ve all heard a “life is too short” story. The story comes in a wide variety of shapes and sizes but the moral of the story is always the same – life is too short, don’t waste a minute of it.
I played in a charity golf tournament last week with a special person. He had one name on his name tag – like Sting, Bono, Cher, and Madonna. He is a Leukemia survivor.
He spent a full year of his life in the hospital. Prior to being diagnosed with Leukemia his work-life balance was way out of whack – all work and no life. As a survivor he now has a better perspective on things and acts accordingly. His outlook on life was inspiring to listen to.
A friend of my wife’s put that same storyline in a different perspective a few months ago. Her angle was that if you were lucky enough you would live for 85 summers. Do you really want to waste one of your precious summers surrounded by people that are not good for you? I know I don’t. There are too few summers left in my life. I took this summer to really enjoy life. I watched with joy as my older son got married to the love of his life. I watched with pride as my younger son graduated from college and entered law school to pursue his dreams. I played a lot of golf and shot the best round of my life. I spent another summer with my high school sweetheart, my best friend, and my wife. I wish all my summers were that good.
The summer is not over yet. There is still plenty of time to make the most of it and end on a high note.
I’ll let you be the judge. I would love to hear your comments.
“Live like you were dyin’” – lyrics from the song Live Like You Were Dying by Tim McGraw.
A special thank you goes to G. for sharing a day of his life with me.
A special thank you also goes to D.B.S. for providing the inspiration for today’s blog.
Steve O’Grady
