on being thankful

first there was John Travolta's 16 year old son who died suddenly and then I watched Barbara Walters' interview with a very ill Patrick Swayze. Famous people, sure, but human like the rest of us. They come on the heels of a holiday where I was reminded that we're all getting older. Nearly everyone I know, their health is on the edge, some are actually tipping over. So, I've been pausing to think about how lucky I am. I've got my issues, sure, but by and large I'm pretty damn healthy. I know two friends with MS, two others with diabetes, still others with this and that - all things that could turn deadly in the blink of an eye. I've had friends die at very, very early ages - lives cut entirely too short. At the end of the Walter's special I found myself thanking God that I'm ok. With elderly parents and no children or spouse, staying healthy is even more important than ever. There's nobody but me so, what the hell happens if I go down? I don't wanna know. Not yet.

just one more

a very happy Lance, feeling relatively good, in a happy "Celly" on our way to Tulsa
he thinks he's an old man. I think he's "Oh Man!"

a new year

well, here we are, 2009, and tomorrow sees me and many others back in the office for the first time this year. I'd like to say I'm excited to go back to work. I'd like to say I've done everything I said I was going to do before we broke for the holidays. I'd like to say I have set resolutions that I have started...and can actually finish. I'd like to say many, many things that are true but, so far, I've not said anything true except that it's a new year.

(Robin, Lance, Kate)

I was very fortunate to visit my beloved Tahlequah, Oklahoma over the holiday. It was a short visit, and action packed as always (Dirty Santa party pic above), but it was very, very good for many reasons. Not the least of which was seeing many of my best pals on the planet and realizing that they, too, are aging. It's not just me. And, with the exception of yours truly, we're aging very well for the most part - at least as far as looks are concerned. Health is another matter entirely.

It is this last point that is fueling me to improve my health and well-being this year. To stop giving all of my energy to my day job and my second, non-paying job and to start using that energy to make me a better person to my fellow man and to myself; emotionally, physically, spiritually, and intellectually. I should be coming into my prime, not feeling overwhelmed and tired all the time. If I live as long as my first grandparent that died, my 44th birthday this week marks my mid-life. It seems to me that 44 years is not enough and that 88 won't be enough either. So, in case I don't even make it that far, I better get to work on making the most of what's left and stop giving it to energies that don't deserve nor fully appreciate it.

There - I feel better now.