Life comes at you quick. That’s what you always hear at least. But as you get older, I find this statement to be even more true. I am often reminded of this when I talk to my 14 year-old son. He is a freshman in high school this year and often talks about how slow the weeks go by. Of course, the weekends tend to go fast for him when he’s not in school. That whole mentality is just so crazy to me. I am 47, which is old to me, but now I try to enjoy all the moments I can. Because when I look back on life it seems like a blur now.
Of course, life was a bit simpler when I was younger compared to my kids today. I didn’t have a cell phone always stuck in my hand or in front of my face. The first cell phone I got was my freshman year of college. In high school I had a pager. Do you remember pagers? Basically, I would get a buzz on the little pager telling me a phone number to call. Or people would send me 8008S. Which looks like the word boobs. I know, stupid, right? Then you would call them back from your home phone on the number they paged you. So crazy to think how cool that was at the time. Then it was on to the Nokia cell phone, which was so cool. You could send text messages and even take pics on the first phone I had.
Fast forward to today and kids do pretty much everything on their cell phones. Which is not always a good thing when they are staring at their phones instead of listening to you or their teachers in class. Although, I will say this. I was such an idiot back in my 20’s, I’m glad you couldn’t just post a picture to social media right away for everyone to see. Man, would I have been embarrassed!
So somehow, I got thru my 20’s safely. Did a lot of stupid things, but survived. Had my daughter when I was 30, my son 2 years later and then life began to flash by. The thing that hit me and really made my start to appreciate life and enjoy each moment is when I was 39, I had 6 strokes. Out of nowhere, it hit me, for no apparent reason (which they say is a good thing). 4 Days in the hospital, almost dying and 2 months off work and it made me appreciate life so much more. It made me take the special moments with my kids and my family and appreciate them so much more.
It was funny, I found an old post I wrote back in 2008, entitled “Turning 30”. It gave 30 life lessons I had learned so far in life. There were a bit crazy to be honest. But, here they are:
1. Never eat yellow snow.
2. What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.
3. Liquor before beer, you're in the clear.
4. Don't order a burger at a place known for Pizza.
5. When somebody tells you a plate is hot.. don't touch it.
6. Don't drink the water in Mexico.
7. Don't try and sniff pepper, it won't make you sneeze.
8. Yes, Pepto Bismol does make your tongue turn black.
9. Rocky Mountain oysters......yeah they're not oysters.
10. Mayonnaise, is so much better with fries than ketchup.
11. Sometimes a pen is mightier than a sword.
12. Chicken fingers.... a gift from God
13. Limos are way overrated.
14. Probably shouldn't bumper slide on the back of a truck.
15. Catnip is for cats only.
16. Wrestling is not real, just like Santa Claus
17. You really can never win playing slots.
18. Man was not meant to go down snowy hills at extreme speeds with two sticks on his feet.
19. A grease burn just plain hurts!
20. Never believe everything you read.
21. Always think before you talk.
22. Jumping over midgets in Mexico is illegal.
23. Never pick up a lit firework.
24. Never order a dish that means "Angry Dish"
25. When playing paint ball... always wear a cup.
26. God does work in mysterious ways.
27. Try not to puke in your brand new car. It's hard cleaning the yak out of the cracks.
28. When you get a chance to travel... go you may never get another chance.
29. My parents were right.
30. Put your pride to the side and try to be open minded to new things.
Reading those back I had to chuckle to myself a bit. I was just a different kid back then 17 years ago. But then I think to myself how would my list change now that I’m 47? I think I could narrow this list down to the most important thing I have learned in my 47 years so far:
Enjoy life and tell your family and friends how you feel now. Don’t wait for tomorrow. Do it now!
 |
| Find him on X @brogan78 | on Instagram | on Facebook | or on Youtube |