Yesterday was my 49th birthday. I could go on and on about the aging process, trying to age with grace… and the realization that I am now probably more than – at the halfway mark – of my life span. But today all I feel is lucky .. to be here, to be healthy, to have this family I cherish and to be able to care for the animals I also call my family.
What are my goals from here? Well, some of them have been squashed with this hearing impairment… but there are always opportunities if we venture to look, muster a little courage, step outside our particularly comfortable box and look around. I might open that shop again. I hope to continue advocacy for animals in need, especially the dogs… such beautiful souls. I might expand that out to humans as well, not sure the direction I should take yet, but I’m working on it. I’m going to be honest here for a minute and tell you I used to think I wanted to volunteer at a homeless shelter, see if I could make a difference in those lives. I visited with a local church group, bringing a meal to share with them. I’m embarrassed to tell you it scared me. The level of mental illness and instability actually scared me enough not to want to return. What a coward, I tell myself, and yet there it is.
So I’ll figure it out, and with a little luck and elbow grease I hope to have years to work on it, help others, support my family in the ways that I do. Another 49 to go? That’s asking a lot, but I’ll ask anyway.
Mom made my favorite Irish meal last night…. Thanks Mom! any leftovers? First reader to guess all the components of this meal gets the Luck O’ the Irish!
