The older I get, the more aware I become of just how precious our “time” really is. When Steve died, that particular lesson came down on my head like thunder and lightning. Losing someone precious drives home the reality of the value of time.
The older I get, the more aware I become of just how precious our “time” really is. When Steve died, that particular lesson came down on my head like thunder and lightning. Losing someone precious drives home the reality of the value of time.
My top priorities include focusing on those I love, personal goals and truly living. It’s not like I didn’t think that way before, it’s just, now, I’m much more aware. Hyper-aware. I don’t want an opportunity to slip by without letting loved ones know how much they mean to me.
Also, the older I become, the more I actively work on simplifying my surroundings. I am developing a “less is more” mentality.
Which has inspired a lot of downsizing. Recently, I went through the garage, cleaning, purging and re-organizing. Sometimes, I have been brutal in getting rid of things. It has to pass the, “have I used it, read it, wore it or need it” question. If it doesn’t meet one of those, I don’t keep it.
In the back of the garage, I came across a large, old wooden trunk. I didn’t know what would be inside. It was filled with two large stacks of old vinyl records. My first thought was to get rid of it all.
Instead, I sat there looking through the names on the records. I started to reminisce about my childhood. Every Sunday morning, my father would drive my brother and me to Wainwright to visit Grandma and Grandpa.
Grandpa always had a record playing. Every Sunday of my entire childhood was filled with listening to Jerry Clower, Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys, Earl Scruggs & Ernest Tubb, Lester Flatt, Kitty Wells, Bill Monroe, Hank Williams etc.
Before I really thought about it, I had picked out my favorites, scooped them up and brought them inside. I ordered a small record player from Amazon and waited patiently for it to arrive. This past weekend, my home was filled with music from a variety of grand old country legends. Including John Denver who remains one of my all time favorites.
It made no sense to keep them. It’s not practical. I could have just played the same songs off of YouTube, Apple or Amazon.
Yet, those old vinyl records flowed so sweetly through my memories. And, I sang more this weekend than I have in several years. It felt a bit like Christmas or … unexpectedly and happily bumping into a dear old friend.
