Yesterday

7/20/2019

Yesterday, Stacey and Benjamin came to see me. This is always a treat, and one I look forward to always.

Our first stop was at the salon for face waxing. Yes, I can wax my face from home, but it's never as effective as when I have a professional do it. I remember on our honeymoon, we were riding a bus somewhere (which is not the point of this story). There was an old lady sitting near us, and she had this ugly mole on her face, with one long piece of hair sticking out from the mole. Being only 25, I was a bit (okay maybe a bit more) disgusted with this solo hair. In 1974, I wasn't showing the effects of aging - like facial hair for instance!

Okay, fast forward to today, and I now resemble more or less this old woman. I have dark hair, and consequently, any facial hair that I have is either gray (really?) or dark. Either way, I don't want, and I suspect that all of you women out there, want facial hair. The joke is that I could grow a better beard than Jeff! Here's the thing - I have been waxing my face since 1986, give or take a year, and still the hair growing on my face, continues to come back. Does my hair follicles not get the idea? Which idea? The one where you go back to where you came from, and stay underneath the surface! Alas, the message has not been received, unfortunately.

We were going to see the movie Aladdin. The theater has been renovated with new positional recliners. But, that's not the best part. Best part is that you go to the concession stand, and order your food. Once you've paid for your food, it is delivered to your seat, which has a little table you put in front of you. Neat, you bet. Expensive? Also you bet. You can order "real" food, like wraps, salads, burgers, etc. You can also order the regular movie food - popcorn and coke. Since I have this temporary crown in the front of my mouth, I believed, and still do, that chomping down on popcorn wasn't a good idea.  

Oh, where was I? At the theater. The price of the tickets is high and likely will only get higher. But, the price of food is off the chart. By the time the three of us ordered our food, the fee came to $60.00. (Jeff, please breath).

Jeff and I don't have what you would call an "entertainment" budget. We don't go to see plays, and on a yearly basis, might see one or two movies. And, only buy popcorn and coke. But, by going out yesterday, I literally blew any entertainment budget, out of the water. Apologies Jeff.

Benjamin is going to middle school in the fall. So, our getting together mid-week will no longer be a possibility. And, I will miss these getting together very much. As it is, Benjamin already has homework to do over the summer.

There are now two things that make me feel a bit sad. One is obviously, the loss of time that Jeff and I will be able to see Benjamin.  

The other thing that is making me a bit sad, which may not be the right word for what I'm feeling. I'm going to be 70 in December, and there is something about that number that causes me dread. When turning all the decades previously, have never bothered me. I didn't mind turning 40, 50 or 60 didn't even make much of a ripple in my life. So, what's up with turning 70. I guess, to me, that being 70 sounds so old. In the big picture, most people live many years after turning 70. Knowing this, brings me little comfort. Pretty much everywhere you go - doctors, hospitals, etc., want to know your age. I'm not vain, and we've already established that. But, for me, there is a difference in saying I'm 69 than saying I'm 70! 

Sometime ago, Jeff read, about a man who put "x" marbles in a jar. He put the number of marbles in the jar that he believed represented the years left in his life. The man removed a marble every week. Anyway, he eventually had no marbles left, and he was still standing. How many marbles would be in your jar? If I were to put marbles in my jar today, I would say 10 or perhaps 15. Either way, the numbers of either 10 or 15, puts me at 80+ years. Now, that really does sound old. And, thinking of the marbles is sobering.

Here's the story.  The writer of this story says: “You see, I sat down one day and did a little arithmetic. The average person lives about seventy-five years.I know, some live more and some live less, but on average, folks live about seventy-five years.” Now then, I multiplied 75 times 52 and I came up with 3900 which is the number of Saturdays that the average person has in their entire lifetime, and each Saturday I threw one marble in the trash. I found that by watching the marbles diminish, I focused more on the really important things in life. There is nothing like watching your time here on this earth run out to help get your priorities straight. Now let me tell you one last thing before I sign-off with you and take my lovely wife out for breakfast. This morning, I took the very last marble out of the container. I figure if I make it until next Saturday then God has blessed me with a little extra time to be with my loved ones."

Based on that story, and I believe it's an eye opener for sure. My jar would either contain 4,160 marbles (age 80) or 4,420 (age 85).

P