Turning Thirty

Right now, I am sitting near a small fire outside my house, enjoying the wonderful October air and sky. This truly is one of the best times of year. This has been a nightly ritual for the last several days, and I have enjoyed every minute of it. There has been no worrying about the petty little things that life throws at you. It has been nothing but enjoying the simple pleasures.

Tomorrow, I will turn thirty years old. It’s not a big deal to me, but when others find out I will be thirty, they react like it is the shock of the century and that the days of armaggedon are well en route. While the latter may be true, billions of others have turned thirty before me - and they did fine.

However, I have thought about this a lot, and really have no way to write about what I am thinking. My triglycerides are too high, I’m overweight, I have a stable career, solid prospects for becoming an established author, and have a wonderful family. Rather than worrying about getting old, I need to be enjoying the moment more.

While seated at the fire the last couple nights, there have been some versus running through my head. Moments ago, I sat down with pen and paper by the fire and drafted them into the following:

“Turning Thirty”

With my uncertain September mistress at bay,
My October bride ushers a whole new day.

Nustled in close by the fire,
We chat over a warm cider,
and remember those days long ago,
when our future was much an unknown.

My mind without perspective way back then,
long before a mere month could be called friend.

Flames chatter, big sky, and crickets chirpy . . .
That’s what’s on my mind as I turn thirty.