From The Storyteller
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May 14, 2018, Monopoly
Front porch, summer, cut-throat Monopoly. The cousins were up from Indianapolis and Bobbie and I are eyeball to eyeball. He is a great cousin. We compete in everything from bowling and Monopoly to comic book collections. Bragging rights last about 15 seconds before the role is reversed, and the proverbial shoe is on the other foot.A roll of the dice and Boardwalk with hotels means victory for one, and defeat for the other. Clear the board, recount the money, get a baloney sandwich and a tall red Kool Aid, and then start again. It has been a really long time since red Kool Aid has been my preferred drink, and baloney sandwiches are now a rarity on the menu. Actually it has been a long time since my last Monopoly game and even a longer time since I last saw my cousin, who now lives 1500 miles away. Things that brought me so much joy are now only fond memories. Even though I have the resources to do all the red Kool Aid and baloney sandwiches anyone could ever want, they just never end up on the shopping list. Change has happened and, until I started writing this, how great that change has been mostly went unnoticed. This is not about my gray hair and increased belt size; rather it is about the way I think about life. While what was important at 15 and what is important at 71 look very different, there is one thing tying them together. Life! It must be lived every single day. Cut-throat Monopoly at 15, and holding a grandchild at 71 are real time events. We can chose to enjoy them and fully participate, or not. Red Kool Aid shared with grandchildren still works for me. Moral: Being alive is always a right now event. |