Tomorrow.....

As a child, I really don't think it took a lot of effort for my folks to get me to go to bed.  I loved being a kid - and the excitement of tomorrow - Whiffle ball, Little League game, lightning bugs in a Mason jar, skateboarding, sledding down from Jewell Hall, trip to grannys, the yummy basement of Mattingly's where a kajillion toys were stored. Captain Kangaroo, Tom Terrific, Andy Griffith, what mess Eddie Haskell will get into tomorrow that Wally will have to help him undo.  Much.  There was MUCH reason to hop in the sack and do it allover again.

And then, in a few years: There's the song "Last Kiss."  Well.  Someone should write a song about the first kiss. Katy bar the door, three backflips, you put a spell on me, what the HECK was that - I've discovered the mirror and what it portrays back to me... CHANGE.  A HUMONGOUS life change.  Tomorrow will never look the same. Gimme blinders, count me all in, my timbers have been shivered.

Then, freedom - the stages, points across life.  First time on the bike, allowed to criss cross town.  Driver's license. A game changer (coupled with that newfound kissing, "yes, I'll have another helping please.!")  Moving out. Another moving in.  I'm reminded of Tom Hanks and Big. I/we are that now.  Where's the manual?

And on, and on and on it goes. The many turns, reasons for, the delight of tomorrow. A real job. Having a kid. Raising that kid.  Finding love in labor. Shining, or attempting to, in that labor of love. Years and years of commuting while visions of sugarplums, vacations, softball games, Lake outings, an evening at home with other couples, a new house, a new(er) car, Holidays - all dance in one's head.

By now, life is, has been, a teeter totter.  Give/take. We all (Victor, speak for yourself, not me). OK, some, most, many, are a tad bit selfish, with a pinch of giving.

THEN.  Then, ya get old. You quickly go to a website where you enter two dates and it will automatically compute "how many days until then", as in, RETIREMENT.  The teeter is tottering toward selfishness.  We, ok, me/I, am ok with that.

Nap. Sure.  I'll do that tomorrow. We attempt to wear fingerprints off by flipping channels on the remote to find something that remotely entertains us.  Hungry?  We drive there, eat. Cook, yes, fine and dandy, but why not venture out, drive, go in, sit, people watch and presto, have food brought out by a smiley snotnose in a very few minutes. The added weight of natural aging, coupled with the leaning more and more toward selfishness has our butt firmly planted on the teeter totter ON the ground. Help, I'm selfish and I can't get up.

But, but, but........ you're not too old to teach.  To learn.  To assist.  To volunteer.  To make a difference in someone else's life. Yes, the end could be near, but you've got to have concern for tomorrow.  No, we probably won't see our grandkids have kids - but what can we do to ensure their tomorrow is as joyous as our tomorrows were growing up.

Then, it's remembered we're retired.  Selfish, mostly. Nap.  Flip the channels. Golf. The Community Center jacuzzi, sauna.  People watching, it's a claim to fame. We are led, mostly by ourselves, to really not giving a rats about other's tomorrows.  For shame for shame. Color me guilty.  Forgive me Father, I'm going to take a nap now.........................................................................................................................

There she was. She HAD to be 90+.  Twas a wonderful Spring afternoon, onea those afternoons where you venture into the sun and soon ya peel off your jacket.  You go sit in the shade - and put it back on.  Penguin Park. The ratio was pretty much two kids for every adult.  <-- alla them, living, enjoying, their tomorrow.

This bystander was taking it all in.  I usedta teach, long ago.  I usedta work, been 5 years now. I usedta parent daily, been almost twenty years ago.  With the exception of giving my grandkids whatever in the heck they want without spoiling them too awful much, my vision has turned inward.  Selfish.  The teeter totter on the ground is starting to hurt my butt.

Oh yeah, her.  That lady.  The 90-something lady.  I found her presence strange. I'm the grandparent and she's at least 20 years my senior.  So, who was she there with, for? Upon further review, she was unaccompanied.  Her walk was labored. Slow, but determined.  In her I saw my own granny.  Maybe a bit overdressed for the weather - and a beautiful scarf, the kind ladies just don't wear nowadays but maybe should. It was a her generation thing.

As my eye to her became keener - I noticed she was handing out small pieces of paper to any adult that ventured by, and that would accept her handing out the small pieces of paper. She would move, again, kinda painfully but with determination, from spot to spot to find a place to hand out her papers.

Finally she walked by me. "Hi, can I give you this?" My selfishness retro'ed back to reply "Why sure ma'am, thank you!"..... The first piece of paper was composed of Biblical quotes.  Comprende, and not the intended topic here because I know there are differing opines on that.  The second page she handed me - another story.

Here she was, 90+. There is no doubt she will not live long enough to see the 200 or so kids that were running around, to ever be old enough to drive a car. She will not be around to observe the gleam in their eye as they, the kid, become proud parents, and their life cycle changes. She has no idea what their chosen labor of love will be.

What on Earth could be her purpose to find a way to print hundreds of pieces of paper, use her withered hands to cut them up properly - to hand out to the adults monitoring the kiddos.

As a fellow AARP person, I find my 'difference' in life to be, clean undies for tomorrow, pizza, lasagna or a good ole burger? An afternoon with Ellen DeGeneres or three hours of binging on all those Alaska shows on Discovery? Getting my calculator out to compare how many dollars are left until Uncle Sam direct deposits my check again at midnight on the third Tuesday of the month.

I've waited to long, sorry to expose what was on the other piece of paper, sorry. 

CHILDREN LEARN WHAT THEY LIVE:

If children live with criticism, they learn to condemn.

If children live with hostility, they learn to fight.

If children live with ridicule, they learn to be shy.

If children live with shame, they learn to feel guilty.

If children live with tolerance, they learn to be patient.

If children live with encouragement, they learn confidence.

If children live with praise, they learn to appreciate.

If children live with fairness, they learn justice.

If children live with security, they learn to have faith.

If children live with approval, they learn to like themselves.

If children live with acceptance and friendship, they learn to find love in the world.

The remainder of my time at the park I watched as she handed out her papers.  Almost all were accepting. Soon, I began to see slips of paper on the ground. In the trash bin. Deposited quickly, without reading, into a pocket. I longjumped into the minds of many of the adults receiving the paper, imagining their possible thoughts of "Crazy lady with 27 cats in her house."  "She's demented, now where are my kids?"

I'll settle for another version. I find her happily teeter tottering in that life aint over.  "I can still make a difference. I care about others and their tomorrows."

Far, friggin' out. I love her. She's either had so much bad in her life she so badly wants good for others - or, she's lived marvelously, having so much good in her life, she wants others to have that as well.  I'm gonna hope the latter is correct.

That's it.  That's my story.  As I selfishly sit on this teeter totter demonstrating not giving as many cares about other's tomorrows - sheepishly, I'm in awe of her.

It was a beautiful scarf with a beautiful lady beneath it, STILL making a difference - caring about other's tomorrows.  There's a reason why they're known as the greatest generation.

Seeya tomorrow, I hope.

Love, Victurd