The Older I Get. . .

. . .the more I appreciate my family and all of the loving support they give me in all aspects of my life.

. . .the more I enjoy spending time with good friends.  It doesn't matter if we're on a planned outing or just hanging out, we always have fun.

. . .the less I enjoy going to activities that are so contrived and overplanned that they cease to resemble anything fun.

. . .the more I realize that while I had fun when I was in school, you couldn't pay me enough to go back and experience it again.

. . .the more I realize that what others think of me is of little or no importance compared to what I think of me.

. . .the harder it is to do many of the things I took for granted when I was younger.

. . .the easier it is to figure out who and what really matter.

. . .the more I realize that the things I understood so well as a child take a lot of work to figure out as an adult.

. . .the more I realize that truth, knowledge and wisdom are not easy to come by.  Nor are they mutually exclusive or mutually inclusive.

. . .the more I appreciate getting enough sleep and feeling well rested.

. . .the broader I apply the term "my age."

. . .the less I care about the relative ages of myself and those I enjoy spending time with.

. . .the more I enjoy finding the time to take some "me" time.

. . .the more I realize that there are many things in life worth working hard for.

. . .the easier it becomes to push through rough times by focusing on what is truly important and leaning on the vast amount of support offered by those who love me.