Tomorrow

The ole ranch hand has of late viewed the process of aging with increasing interest. My belly ain't been flat since Moby Dick was a minnow and I've got more aches/pains than Carter has liver pills?

Thing is, I don't much seem to care about that kind of trivia any more? My focus has shifted to other priorities that matter more to me at this stage of dotage.

With increasing frequency, I am seeing those who I count as friends and others who had a profound influence in my life succumbing to the inevitability of death. It grieves my soul to lose my valued companions and forces me to look square in the eye of my own mortality.

My focus has clearly shifted from making my job the all encompassing driving force in my life to family and relaxation being the preferred nirvana.

My body has long since forsaken any pretense of youthful vigor, muscle tone, or lack of a "gut". Succinctly stated, I am old, fat, wrinkled, and don't really care any more. I am blissfully comfortable in my "skin".

Heartbreak for whatever reason is a bitch. Somehow, someway, I have finally figgered out that it is just a part of living and I have come to accept the reality of it being a part of growing.

I have always loved humor. I now treasure the balm it applies to pain, the perspective it gives to tragedy, and the pleasure from making others laugh.

I have forever been unforgivingly hard on myself. Always demanding perfection, never accepting failure. I have finally determined that failure is OK. As long as I give my best effort and do the right thing at the right time for the right reason, I accept outcomes different from my expectations as the will of God.

What the hell? Gettin' older seems more each day like being freed from self doubt, worry about the opinion of others, and revelation of the joy of living above ground for one more day.

Truth be known, I can't wait til tomorrow cause I just get better looking every day!