Generations...

Two days ago I was a child and my family was living in a small two-family house, 12 people sharing many of the same problems that most extended families experience. Two of the people were my grandparents who were probably a lot younger than I realized at the time.

A day ago I graduated college and began my young adult life. Soon afterwards Jean and I got married and began our family, while my parents moved on to the next stage of their own lives as they retired from their jobs and began enjoying their “golden years.”

Today Jean and I are in our “middle age”, looking ahead to our own retirement as our sons are graduating college and beginning their own young adult lives. Meanwhile, Jean’s parents are both gone, my father died last summer, and my mother’s future is looking increasingly bleak.

I will never forget the one bit of advice Jean’s father gave us when we were married. He told us that we cannot possibly imagine how quickly the next 40 years will pass, that before we know it we will be at the tail end of our lives, looking back rather than daring to look ahead.

He sure as heck was telling the truth.