Thinking Out Loud, Volume DXII

Ten years. Just ten short years. As I think back over these past ten years, I'm amazed at the changes I've seen in my life. Just one little decade ago today I was a fifty-four year old man who was still on a high from welcoming my first grandchild into the world just two days prior. Today he is a brilliant, baseball playing, God fearing sports enthusiast who has a deep love for his family. My, how things have changed in just one brief decade! On this day ten years ago I didn't know what an iPhone was, and now I'm on my third one. I had never heard of an iPad, and now I own two. I still had my mom ten years ago. The younger brother I lost in 2010 was still in good health ten years ago. People I didn't even know existed are now my close friends, while some relationships I had then have since gradually melted away. Couples who were my good friends are now divorced. Back then, there was no way we could have foreseen the birth of a precious little girl into our family who would radically change us in ways we had never dreamed. There's no way I could have ever imagined that today I would be "Poppa" to two little foster grandchildren, which means there is certainly no way I could've realized just how much we could love them even though we will likely have to see them go back to their birth families, and they will grow up not even remembering who I am. Within the past decade the home I live in has been completely transformed. Without a doubt, as you read this article, your mind has begun to take you back over the last decade, and it's beginning to sink in just how much your own life has been altered in such a short period of time. Some of us have certain years we would like to forget. I've heard statements, and have even uttered similar phrases myself, like, "I sure don't want to have to face another year like 2015," or "2014 taught me some hard lessons." Many of you who were single then are now married with children. Some who were married then are now single. One thing for sure, every one of us has seen things in the past decade we never dreamed we'd see. Now, with all that in mind, let's look ten years forward. My now ten year old grandson will be an adult. Angie and I will be in our seventies. Our kids will be in their forties and fifties. The iPhone and iPad I'm using now will be obsolete. There are those in our lives today who will no longer be here, and let's face it: Some married couples we know will be divorced. The person we elect as President later this year will be out of office. Some of the stores we shop will be out of business. Some of you will have kids, now yet to be born, who will be playing tee ball. The pets we have today will likely no longer be around. My daughter and son in law who are now foster parents could very well be adoptive parents in ten years. Those are things we can predict, but judging from the last decade, there will be events we can't foresee. Think about it. I had never heard of an iPad ten years ago, yet I'm typing this message on one right now. There are new devices in our future that we can't fathom right now. Of course we know that inventions will never stop, but we also know that life happens to all of us, and things just happen in life, both good and bad, that sometimes catch us off guard. We've all heard the cliche' that says, "It's not what happens to us, but what matters is how we deal with what happens." Our lives will certainly all be vastly different ten years from now, and we have no idea just how different they will be. Some changes will make us happy, and some will make us sad, but that's okay. We'll deal with whatever happens. We have no choice. Preston