The Rest of Your Life

"I used to shop this store all the time," my coworker said to a few of us sitting in the breakroom. She went on to say that a typical day might consist of her dropping her kids off at school, then a trip to the gym, or perhaps a manicure or facial was on the agenda. Then she'd lunch with her friends and do some shopping, finishing around the time the kids were ready to be picked up. "I never thought I'd work here."

She went on to describe vacations that she had taken, the upscale restaurants in our city she and her husband frequented. Then all that changed, when his business went south when the recession started. They moved to a smaller home and she went to work, and their lives are drastically different from what they used to be. And she's bitter about it.

She said that she thinks it would be better never to have lived that type of lifestyle, because then she wouldn't know what she was missing. "I guess this," she said, gesturing to our surroundings in the breakroom, "is going to be the rest of my life."

Yes. It is. This is the rest of her life. She has a lot of choices, a lot of directions she could move in, but going back to the "good old days" is simply not an option. This is the rest of my life, and yours, too. No matter how good or bad or mediocre the past was, all that really matters is what we do with what we have right now. We are not helpless victims. We have the power to make the kind of life we want. So, what are you doing the rest of your life?

Susan

"What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?" written by Alan Bergman, Marilyn Bergman and Michel Legrand.

Viva La Vida

My 7-year-old granddaughter asked her 30-year-old dad what he did for fun when he was a kid, before TV and video games. Young people can sometimes be curious about life back in the day, and certainly our experiences have some relevance. But for the most part, I think it's best for us to spare the younger people our stories about the good old days. Our stories can be kind of a yawn. It's like Lee Trevino said: "The older I get, the better I was."

Some of us act like our best days are behind us. And they most certainly are if we believe that. But I look at it like this. Today is the best day ever. It's the only day we have. And tomorrow? Well, there are no guarantees, but tomorrow can be exciting if we have hopes and dreams and goals. And if we are actively involved in making them come true.

As I write this, there are 36 more hours left in this year. Then 2012 will be here, all bright and shiny and full of promise. My wish for you, my reader, is this: May the best of your past be the worst of your future.

Happy New Year.

Susan

Lyrics to "Viva La Vida" by Guy Berryman, Jonny Buckland, Will Champion and Chris Martin