Four Thoughts
This is a recovered post from a botched website transfer in 2014. It was originally written and published on 05/06/2013.
There are four trains of thought steaming down the tracks of my mind this morning.1) Bella's post hit me hard, in a good way. She wrote about taking health - mobility, specifically - for granted, and how good health isn't a given.We witnessed that at the Boston Marathon last month. One moment, runners and onlookers alike were mobile, whole. The next moment, lives were taken, limbs were lost, and health was in jeopardy for hundreds of people.I witness it daily through my aging parents, with whom I live.While they do remarkably well, my 76-year-old mother's hearing and eyesight are deteriorating, and she gets tired fast. My 78-year-old stepfather's hearing is deteriorating, he gets winded with alarming rapidity, and, like my mother, he tires quickly.My 80-year-old father, who lives in another state, is doing well. His hearing is ridiculously good, and his sight is significantly improved after having cataracts removed back in the fall. That said, he is slowing down, too.The three of them are consistent reminders that health and mobility are not a given throughout our lifetime.2. Marcy's post struck me, too. She asked, "What would you do if you only had 21 days left to live?" Gosh. Between her and Bella, it was a one-two punch for early-morning reading.As I commented on her blog, I certainly wouldn't spend time working. I would spend that time relating with those I love. That, to me, is living. Work is for earning money to pay the bills. If it also happens to be a pursuit for which we have passion, that's a bonus. But work isn't life. It isn't living.3. WordPress' The Daily Post offered this up for a daily prompt: Evasive Action - "What's the most significant secret you've ever kept? Did the truth ever come out?"First, I'm not going to divulge a significant secret. If it's a true secret, it's not meant to be shared.Second, I've kept many a short-term secret; secrets intended for surprise, for example. I also hold - and will hold until I die - many secrets that would be better termed as confidences.If something is told to me in confidence, it won't go any further. That said, if I'm told in confidence that someone is going to harm themselves, or someone else, you can bet that I will make a beeline for the proper people to prevent the harm, supposing I can't prevent it myself.4) Expectations: I have few. While I appreciate the blogging mentality that encourages bloggers to practice comment reciprocation, let this be known:
I do not expect anyone to comment here, just because I've commented on their blog.
If my topic is of interest, and you have something to say, that's great. But don't - please, please, please don't - comment because you feel you have to, or because you feel I expect you to reciprocate.I don't expect it.The trains have pulled into the station.Do you take good health for granted? What would you do if you only had 21 days left to live? Do you keep secrets, or do you spill them?
