Waffling on

I suppose you might wonder what the picture has to do with my blog post. Absolutely nothing. I sat in front of the computer mulling over the possibilities for a blog topic and couldn't think of a single thing to say. I suppose you could say I felt just like that cat--all bundled up.

On January 6, 2007 I wrote my first blog. Truthfully, I never imagined I would still be blogging nearly three years later. It was a new venture with all sorts of possibilities waiting in the wings. I sat last night reading through some of those old blogs.

There are posts about things that happened in my childhood. And posts about everyday things that happened over the last three years. There are pictures, quotes, and excerpts from my books. Looking back, I'm amazed that I found so much to say.

This month I turn sixty. For those younger than me, sixty is just a word. They have years to live and things to do before they reach sixty. For those who are older than me, sixty is a milestone they've already reached. They look back on sixty and marvel at their younger selves as they reflect on the things that have changed since then.

Recently I watched Castaway, the movie with Tom Hanks. In the movie he spends four years as a castaway and when he returns to his life, things have changed. There are so many things for him to adjust to, both the big and the small.

When I look back on my life, I have a hard time comprehending the way the world has changed in that time. I find it difficult to talk to some friends that are just twenty years younger because the events that happened during the twenty year span that separates us are not real to them. That's ancient history.

I'll never forget the puzzled expression on my daughter's face when she was about five. She looked at me with wrinkled brow and asked, "Mommy, how many covered wagons did it take when you moved?"

For her, I was so old I could very well have assured her that dinosaurs pulled those many covered wagons. She wouldn't have known the difference. I suspect that time perception is something we get better at as we age, though I have a sneaking suspicion that few of the younger generation in school now will really have a frame of reference for the past.

Someone in my family is descended from Charlemagne and Alfred the Great. When I revealed this exciting information, they looked at me with a blank stare and asked, "Are they famous?" Somewhat stymied, I replied, "Well, yes." "Like Madonna?" "Um, no. Not like Madonna."

As I sit here, I wonder who our children will find to compare our current politicians and rulers with for their children. Will they know who George Washington and Abraham Lincoln are? Will they care?

Or like so much else in life will the past be a jumbled puzzle of names and faces that meant something at one time but no longer hold our respect or attention. Maybe in the future sports figures and actors will truly be our new gods.

It will be interesting to see what the next few years bring.

anny