A good Tuesday morning to all of you, wherever it is on this earth that you might be! The weather here in south central Kansas turned off pretty cool at yesterday's end and the temperature when I checked last evening at 9 p.m. was sitting at 77 degrees under a very cloudy sky. Sure beats the days of 100+ degrees that Kansans had to endure last week and we are thankful for these, the very least of things. Who knows what today's weather will bring~a bit cooler, a chance of rain? We can only hope.
Friends if you are reading this, then you and I have something in common~ we all grew another day older yesterday, the 9th day of July in the year 2012. Did you feel it happening? I didn't~I just kept pressing forward like normal~walked a mile in the early morning, taught summer school until noon, did a little housework and helped a friend, fell asleep in one of the "colourful and happy chairs" in the back yard, visited with my son Grahame about his recent trip to Arizona and last night, rode my bike 10 miles along the bike path. Yet when yesterday was "through", I soberly realized THAT 24-hour span of time given to me in my life was gone. And I closed my eyes and went out "like a light" as soon as my head hit the pillow. I woke up this morning, got up and am ready to start this whole thing all over again. By the way, you know those 24 hours I was given yesterday? Well, friends, you also received the same "gift" as me. Are you "ok" with how you spent your time? Only you can answer that.
In terms of the "seasons of life" for we mortal creatures here on earth, I am pretty sure that Peggy Miller is well into the "autumn" of hers. "Spring" was great with life from oh so very many years ago. The carefree days of being a kid and then growing into a teenager were actually pretty good. My only worry was being able to make enough tip money as a waitress in my parents restaurant in Haven to be able to pay my share of the fun we kids would have dragging Main Street in Hutch on a Saturday night. And oh boy, how I loved the "summer" of my life and for that matter, even the early "autumn" wasn't so bad after all. Having children and watching them grow into healthy young adults, becoming a teacher and a bazillion other things made life "good" for me back then. Filled with way more happy memories than sad ones, I sit here this morning at the dining room table typing away at this post in the summer of my 57th year. It won't be long for me to finally enter the "winter" of life and wait for the glorious time when I can be reunited with all the folks that have gone on before me. Hey, I know, some people prefer not to think about it like that, but it is certainly something that I know in my heart will someday happen. And you know, I figure "what the heck?" I'd rather be preparing for it as I go along~it's bound to make the passing of time much easier to bear. Remembering the four kids from my graduating class (1973) at Haven High School who have already died, some who never even made it through their "summer season" of life, I'm going onward for you guys. (Rest In Peace, Bobbie, Larry, Randy, Shirley)
Because I know how quickly my remaining days shall speed by me and the sure fragility of life itself, I plan to continue living each day to its fullest, as if it was my very last one. I've spent the last week working on the "Miller Bucket List", focusing on the 10 things that I'd like to do before I should "kick the bucket". I included a few of the "leftover" ones from my last list, added in some new, and even plan a "redo" of a special one for me. So, for better or worse, here it is:
1. To power parachute once again.
2. To canoe down the Ark River on an Indian summer day
3. To learn how to sew something for the very first time
4. To continue to meet each of my Facebook friends in person, buy them something to drink and talk about life for a while
5. To learn how to safely shoot a gun (I know, don't worry!)
6. To visit each of the 105 counties in the state of Kansas and do something very fun/memorable in each of them before next summer
7. To continue to reconnect with former students of mine and have a chance to talk and visit, learning about where their lives took them in the years that followed our meeting one another
8. To landscape my back yard in a way that is more "upkeep friendly" to an older person (that'd be me!)
9. To go back to the very same place, on the very same date, at the very same time...where I saw the "most beautiful sunrise in the whole world" last year and take another photo of it.
10. To always keep my "bucket list" full as I follow the advice of my very dearest friend who once told me "You cannot kick a full bucket, Peggy."
I pray for you all to have a great day, a great week, a great rest of life. Please, please friends...choose THIS day to do something you have always wanted to. Let nothing stand in the way of doing it~be at peace with its completion. You are so worth all of the time and energy that it takes to do so. Don't you dare let anyone talk you out of it!
Love you all my kind and dear friends. Have a great Tuesday, July 10th in the year 2012. Wow, what a great day to be alive in!
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