Sands in your hourglass

More sand in the bottom here, too. I'm just not sure when the last grains are going to approach the little hole. 'How much is left?' is a question none of us really have the answer to. As a first responder I encounter those thoughts frequently. This morning at 0730 I found myself giving CPR to a 46 year old acquaintance. His sand ran out at a very early stage in his life, as he did not make it. One thing for sure, as long as our sand is still running we have the opportunity to help set the stage for the next generation. As long as I am able I will assist the younger folks with understanding and coping with the world they face. My venue has been fire service in the last decade or so. If any of you are looking to find a purpose or just get off of the couch, keep in mind that any local volunteer fire company has a position you can assist in filling. Not everyone charges into burning buildings..... I gave that up as I am more of a liability now at my age doing that. I can still drive, pump, and hit the red stuff with the wet stuff.... there are positions for business people, accountants, truck drivers, cooks, carpenters, and almost anything else you may have to offer. Give it a thought. Can be rewarding and depressing all at once, but the rewards certainly make watching the grains of sand passing worth the while.
 
Well for some I'd say that the question would be hard to know in as much as none of us know exactly how much time we have. But, at 71 I can pretty much see that most of my sand has fallen to the bottom.

And, for me at least, the realization that you have more good days behind you than ahead will change the way you think about a lot of things.

At this time in my life I have more time to think about stuff that when I was busy raising a family and working lots of hours and using up most of my energy on the job. The list of those things is long but I won't elaborate here. If you are old you already know, if you are young you will find out later.

I also think that it is only natural that you appreciate your blessings more. I take much better care of my possessions and personal relationships now than I did when I was younger.

One result of a long life is the accumulation of knowledge/wisdom. This is a biggie for me. I look back at my 21 year old self and squirm with humiliation. I don't see how I survived. I had no clue how the world worked and couldn't care less. I not only didn't know anything, I didn't even suspect anything. :rolleyes:
 
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Having very little sand left in the top of one's hour glass does not change everyone the same way. Some become jealous of every remaining second. Others feel free to take risks because they have so little left to lose (mostly pain and deteriorating mental abilities).

So you never know what kind of response you will get out of one of us old decrypted gray or white goats. Some become careful to the point of almost being dead. Others simply become dangerous to mess with. I expect how much family a man has left plays a large part in which side of the above equation he will lean towards.

No matter how it effects you, remember it was an incredible ride and you won the sperm lottery just to be here for a monument. I think it would be nice if you make it count for something besides the thrill of getting stoned or drunk.

This is certainly part of what was behind the TV series Breaking Bad.
 
Walkin' Jack said:
One result of a long life is the accumulation of knowledge/wisdom. This is a biggie for me. I look back at my 21 year old self and squirm with humiliation. I don't see how I survived. I had no clue how the world worked and couldn't care less. I not only didn't know anything, I didn't even suspect anything. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

How well said! You, sir, have a very high score (in my book, anyway) in the school of life. I know some who at a ripe old age still have no clue as to how the world works, nor do they give a hoot. You should receive honors at graduation, and special mention for making a positive change from your younger old self. Being a cat lover gets extra credit, too.....
 
A few further thoughts.... Thinking about the Frank Sinatra song, "It was a very good year", I'm reminded that through every age, 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, and now into the 70s, I have found something to love and enjoy doing that presented itself to me at that time.

I will admit that the 60s and 70 are a bit more of a challenge but still I love my life and the people in it.

And it occurs to me that we don't choose our interests. Rather, they choose us. I found that out when I retired. Everyone said I needed to find a hobby. I tried a few things but the truth is that you can't pick what you want to do. It will find you and you will go with it.

The love and extreme passions I had for all my activities, fishing in the surf, camping, hiking, motorcycles, heavy duty partying with friends etc are now related to memory. These memories still bring me pleasure but I have slowed way down. Funny thing is I don't really miss it. I would not have believed it if I'd been told back then.

I think about some of the road trips in the scooter and then I remember the times we got caught in a rain storm or any of the other unpleasant thing that are going to happen when you do this and I realize that I can no longer tolerate being miserable while I'm livin' my dream.

But now I'm at peace with who and what I am and have learned the importance of making the most of what I have NOW.
 
My dad passed at 58. He drank, smoked, and more. I never met the man, but my life goal was to outlive him. My Mom and Grandmother raised me to think that guy named "Can't" couldn't do anything, but I can. That 59th birthday was a great one. This year's will be another I've looked forward to since high school -- listening to the Beatles -- "When I've sixty-four"

Between the two of us, Barbara and I have 52 years in the 'Force. I wasn't a flyer, but I had a great, rewarding career and got to fly in most birds and whirlybirds the services owned. We continually meet vets who can't hold a conversation about anything but their service time. I told one retired Chief, "I think I've forgotten how to speak Air Force." We don't look in the direction of that other Beatles' song: "Yesterday."

I love gardening, indoors and out. If I've contemplated that last grain of sand falling through the hole it's been in terms of planting a new tree and pondering how big I'll get to see it grow. I haven't let the thought keep me from planting more trees.

A fighter pilot I knew in the 'Force shook his head as he watched me climb off my bike (bicycle) when I arrived for a meeting (my 25th year in the 'Force). He said, "You know you're only allotted just so many heart beats in life. I don't know why you waste them faster than most by riding a bike instead of driving your truck."

Barbara and I rode our tandem bike in the Tour de Wyoming in 2003--465 miles in six days, and put a total of 1,350 miles on the bike that year. I don't ride a road bike anymore because of where we live, but I take the pooches on at least one l-o-n-g walk everyday. Neither of us had ever had a dog till last May.

We got Barley when he was 9 weeks old; he'll be a year old tomorrow. Mini Aussie Shepherds are not necessarily known for being gentlemen, but we've trained Barley to be one. It takes time -- lots of those grains of sand -- but he's smart, and he wants to please us. We got Maisie (Scots Gaelic for Pearl and short for Margaret) when she was 8 months. She's a month younger than Barley, and she's a ditz (Barbara's word), but her training is coming along. They're sweet pups, and they make us laugh.

I'm still looking forward, not back, and I can't see the end...

JSR III said:
Wondering if there is more sand in the top or bottom of your personal hour glass. If you are like me and there is more in the bottom half, has it changed the way that you think about anything? If so, please elaborate.
Click to expand...

How 'bout you, JSR III? What's your answer to your question?
 

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After having prostate cancer it will be three years in June. It's in remission but I had radiation and hormone injections. It has changed my life. I tend to sit when I pea, LOL I enjoy the family even more today. I cherish my 5 year old grandson. I feel my hour glass is almost filled on the bottom. I just don't care either way. I'm at peace with everything. But each day is a gift. Life is truly a stage and were the players. Godless

For younger people get your prostates checked. This one snuck up on me.

My doctor said I could live 3 years, 12 years or it may never comeback.

I purchased my grandson a dirtbike with training wheels. It's so nice seeing him ride with his dad(my son). As I did with my son.

I hope to live long enough to see him shoot that s&w k22 and Winchester 1980 22 pump rifle I got him.

I'm ok not down for the count yet.
 
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Well, this has been a sobering, yet somehow positive thread. With sand in the bottom, I can say that the goal of stashing a lifetime supply of reloading components is easily within reach. Just a little more lead and I can ignore trying to accumulate and now concentrate on shooting as long as I can hold up the gun and see the front sight (sort of).
 
radar1972 said:
I'm 63 so I suppose there's more sand in the bottom of my hourglass.

I'm realizing one of my Dad's favorite sayings is true: "Life is like a roll of toilet paper... the closer you get to the end, the faster it goes."
Click to expand...

By the time the toilet paper roll runs out we won't need it. Your dad's a smart man.
 
I'm 78. My health is a lot less than great. I've lived alone since I was widowed twenty years ago last month. I can no longer hunt or buy guns. Fishing is limited, and that's been my therapy for over seventy years.

And it's okay.

I know I'm wiser now, and I try to keep up intellectually to develop that further. I think I'm gentler and more tolerant as the end of my life approaches. I'm not patient with idiocy or bad manners, and I have a lot of anger about some of what is going on all over the world today; but with individual people, I think I'm more inclined to be kind and forgiving.

In fact, I've often been told I'm too forgiving, but hanging onto grudges and resentments trashes my serenity and eats me up inside. Life is literally way too short now for that.

I'm pessimistic about people in large organized groups, but essentially optimistic about people as I find them one at a time.

Life isn't easy by any means, but it's an awful lot simpler and pretty peaceful if I let it be.
 
I'll just say......

There's more in the bottom but how it has affected my life and thinking is profound and I've have to write a book on the subject to get it across. I was always a freethinker and now I'm even moreso. You get more conservative naturally, but in some ways I've gotten much more liberal. I've been through hell and I don't sweat the small stuff, I appreciate things with real value rather than property and possession. I don't worry about what MAY happen and just deal with what DOES happen. I realize my past failings more and I figure it's not to late to try to be a better person. I have (some) more patience. One thing is that I enjoy not being as influenced by what other say, or what I've heard, jump completely off 'common knowledge' and learned to make up my own mind. The real truth has become more important, not what I want or think is the truth. I had some real problems growing up and after a real struggle I've come to accept and put away the trouble that it has caused me over the years. I see myself and my interactions with the world more clearly than I did before I was, say, 40 or so. In some ways I've gotten stronger and face what bothers me more than ignoring it hoping it will go away. I'm 'braver' intellectually and challenge ideas. I've never been as polarized on some political issues (like gun rights) as I've become on issues that really matter to me. I challenge more what I think is wrong or flawed logic or thinking regardless of the topic. People telling me what I should believe or how stupid I or other people are REALLY irks me and I challenge them right off the bat.

This is probably enough of that book I'm writing, but it's enough to see that years have really changed me in many ways. And well, you asked.:)
 
Like all of us I am a Sinner, like a lot of us, I believe in God, and the fact that he gave his only son for us so we could be saved. I spend a lot of time marveling at, and giving thanks for his miracles that surround us.

I also spend time asking for his help for our country.
 
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I'd say mine is bottom heavy NOW..3 years ago it was a different story. I worked 6-7 days a week driving truck for many years, always figuring I'd have time to do what I wanted to. Hell...at 38 I was still young, right? Ended up in the hospital for a month diagnosed with chronic heart failure due to a viral infection. Never improved, so my days are numbered. There are many things I always wanted to do that are now off the table,due to limited ability. Anything that requires physical activity is hard on me, and I pay for it if I overdo it. I've made myself sick twice now from pushing too hard when walking ( it seems to wear my immune system out, and a couple days later I'm coughing and have a fever ). So yeah..my attitude has changed greatly in the last couple years. If I want to do something I do it. I've found a few guns I've always wanted, and I appreciate the things that I always used to take for granted.
 
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