Saturday, February 9, 2008

Forty

"I can see myself, it's a golden sunrise, young boy, open up your eyes. It's supposed to be your day… and somewhere on your path to glory you will write your story of a life." -Harry Chapin

I’m forty years old today. I feel blessed that my age is the only number in the English language that, spelled out, is in alphabetical order. That has to count for something. I don’t feel forty. I guess since when you are young, forty seems old and I don’t feel old. I feel like I did when I was 30... or 20. It stands to reason that when I’m 50 or 60 I’ll feel like I do now… and did then. That’s weird.

I have noticed some “old” signs popping up in my life. I think some young people are stupid. I don’t like “the new music.” I dress like its still 1992. Stuff like that.

Remember when you were young and Christmas couldn’t get here fast enough? Now I think if I only had a couple more weeks I could get everything done. Funny. Time has a way of moving very, very fast without really speeding up at all. In a blink of an eye I’ve gone from being young and immortal to older and needing to have tests done. Time watches us like a cat will watch a mouse.

Ticking away the moments that make up a dull day
You fritter and waste the hours in an offhand way.
Kicking around on a piece of ground in your hometown
Waiting for someone or something to show you the way.

Tired of lying in the sunshine staying home to watch the rain.
You are young and life is long and there is time to kill today.
And then one day you find ten years have got behind you.
No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun.

So you run and you run to catch up with the sun but it's sinking
Racing around to come up behind you again.
The sun is the same in a relative way but you're older,
Shorter of breath and one day closer to death.

Every year is getting shorter never seem to find the time.
Plans that either come to naught or half a page of scribbled lines
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way
The time is gone, the song is over,
Thought I'd something more to say.

I've spent most of this week awaiting the impending doom of the proverbial 40 years old. But I think I'll change my tune. Billy Graham said to plan your life like you'll live forever but live it like you'll die tomorrow.

7 comments:

Charlotte said...

Wow. Deep thoughts for such an old geezer.

Forty still seems like a big threshold for me, but I may not feel that way in three years. So far, the only birthday that really stung me was #33. Not sure why.

Kyle said...

They say after you reach forty it's difficult to make water without drinking lots of beer.

George said...

The only word in the english language in alphabetical order? What about "at" "it", or "fort"?

Ferdlings said...

Number. The only number.

Anonymous said...

You've always had the neatest bits of trivia info to share. I hope I'm that cool at forty. But I am old enough to understand what you mean about the way time changes your attitude towards things. 33 was a creepy age for me all year too, Chuck. I just figured I wasn't supposed to live longer than Jesus did. Hang in there to the both of you, God has big plans for more years of earthly matters for us all.
Ferds to you,
Jennifer

Charlotte said...

Hmmm. One might wonder what words are in numeric order....

Anonymous said...

Did you have tarter sauce on your cake?