The Odometer of Life

As you have probably noticed I haven't updated in awhile (Thank you for that insight Cpt. Obvious). Actually there is good reason, I've been out of town for the better part of the last couple of weeks. I was working out of our facility in Newnan, GA - about 30 miles south of Atlanta. Anyhow, because of this I haven't had the opportunity to update like I wanted. But I'm back now and things are getting back to normal. Well as normal as 'normal' is.

On my drive home from Newnan this past Friday I ended up doing something a little different to pass the time. The rental car that I had been driving was pretty new. When I picked it up it only had a little over a thousand miles. As I began my return trip I checked the odometer to see what the starting mileage would be. I noticed that as I was leaving the hotel it said "1958". I kind of chuckled as I headed towards the interstate. A couple of minutes and looked down and saw that it now read "1960". Again I sort of smiled to myself and thought that in one mile the mileage of the car would be the same as my birth year - "1961". Sure enough "1961" came around on the odometer. As I looked at my birth year on the odometer, I started thinking back to that time. I started thinking about my birth, where I was born, the stories I had heard about it etc. When I glanced down again I noticed the odometer now said "1962". Again my wind wandered back to the year 1962 in my life. I thought of the stories I heard, where I lived and so on. I'll be the first to admit the years 1961-1965 a bit fuzzy to me since I was only a child. But anyhow I continued watching the odometer play back each year of my life. And each new year that appeared took me back to that time in my life.

When "1972" came up I remembered being in 6th grade and that our high school basketball went to state. When "1977" came up I remembered getting my drivers license and cruising around in my car. Then "1981" rolled around, the year I met Kathy. Then "1982" the year I joined the Air Force and moved to California. "1983" brought a smile to my face as I thought about our wedding and studio apartment that we moved into. "1985" was another banner year as we moved from California to the St.Louis area and Kiel was born. I thought of moving to Belgium when "1987" appeared. I couldn't believe it when "1989" appeared, that was when we moved from Belgium to Panama City and Katlin was born. When "1992" rolled around I thought of how I got out of the Air Force, got a new job and bought my first house.

This little exercise continued up until the present "2005" and I thought about all the things that happened since "1961". I remembered both the good and the bad - the happy and the sad - all of it. I remembered things that I haven't thought about in years. Keep in mind this whole process took about 45 minutes. I was also amazed at how fast it went by and I'm not talking about the miles odometer. As quickly as the miles rolled by on the odometer so have the years of my life - they've just flown by. And that made me a bit sad. But then something interesting happened, I kept watching the odometer. When "2007" appeared I remembered thinking that would be the year Katlin graduates from High School. "2011" appeared and made me wonder if Kiel would be married or if I would be a grandparent. It also reminded me that I would be 50 years old! When "2018" appeared I thought about my kids wives and children. I thought of how old my boys would be, where did they live - and wondered if they would be happy. As I watched the "future" go by, I became happy again. I was excited of all that is before in my life. I thought of all I have to look forward to in the coming years.

Somewhere between "2041" and "2061" - I realized that it was probably over for me. And I thought about that as well. But even then I couldn't help but think about my kids and my kids kids and where would they be during that time and point in their lives. All of it made me think that it's been a good life and that I am very fortunate and blessed. I can't help but be thankful for every minute of it. If you get a minute, particularly during this time of year, take a couple minutes and think back on the odometer of your life. I'll think you'd agree that a lot has happened and that you have been blessed. But I think you'll see that you also have a lot to look forward to in the coming years.

Happy Thanksgiving!