Today is Your 80th Birthday
Close your eyes.
Mentally, let’s take a look at your hands. You notice they have a little more wear on them this morning. There are a few more age spots marking the time you spent outdoors… doing what? Did you enjoy sunbathing? Swimming? Skiing? Gardening? Playing polo? Playing softball? Did you work for the county? Did you work for yourself? Let’s talk about those nails. Are they manicured? Are they rough? Are they stained with paint? Or with stain? Or with oil? As you look down, you see the shoes you are wearing also appear new to you at this moment, but maybe not so new? What about the chair you’re sitting in? You can tell it’s your favorite. Where did it come from? Was it a gift? Did you work hard to purchase it?
Today, my friend, is your eightieth birthday. Happy Birthday! It’s been a long time coming: eighty Christmas trees, eighty summers, eighty end of year stews, eighty fall carnivals, and now eighty birthdays.
As you look back and examine each of those occasions, I want to know all about them. How many of those Christmases did you do something or say something or give something to bless someone you love or someone you don’t even know? How many of those family reunions did you attend even though you swore your cousin Tom made the absolute worst ribs that just kept getting worse and worse with each passing year, but you smiled and said thanks anyway? What was your occupation? Did you work only one job until retirement? Or were you fortunate enough to work two? Were you self-employed or did you have an employer? Who was your spouse? Or spouses? Think about those kiddos. How many of them look like you? How many look like their other parent? How many of them share your values? What was the faith that rescued you in times of darkness, chaos, and hardship? You’re 80 now; did you have health issues or were you able to maintain a healthy body with attention paid to nutritious eating, exercise, and mental exercises each day? Speaking of, how did you keep up your mental acumen? Did you read? Surely you read something: of what you read, what top five books or letters made a difference in your life? Hoping that you worked in a field that you were passionate, but knowing that so many people are not afforded that gift, what were your hobbies? How did you spend your free time? What do you consider to have been your calling thus far? What have you done about that? Who were your mentors? Who did you mentor? What is your character? If you could describe your character in three adjectives, what would they be?
As an educator for over twenty years, I am often appalled at the “things” we are told to teach sometimes. I’ve always wanted to just help people learn to think, to get them ready to be able to problem solve when the need arises. This is an assignment I gave many of my high school students. The paper that followed was obviously fictitious at that moment, but I like to think it might have been a sort of prophecy or manifesto as well. The idea is for them to make some goals. We all know life never goes exactly as planned, but if we maintain some goals, some character, some values, and some deal breakers, I think we can be okay.
This is the last piece of my inspiration. When I look back and see where I draw my inspiration for my paintings, I see Winesburg, Ohio, the 5000, Big Sandy, and “Today is your 80th birthday.” We all have a story, and it’s okay if we don’t necessarily think it’s fascinating or inspirational - someone will.
