Woe. You continue to amaze me. So simply stated, and so real, so bang-on accurate. And revealing a well-won good sense we might call wisdom.

Oh, and a city rooftop after a good fireworks display isn't a bad spot either...

I like Keanu! And speaking of moves ... what about during a good fireworks display?

Seriously, thanks, me.

That was pretty.

What I like, more than anything, is the idea of consequences. When we grow up, we get to see how our choices turn into events. As a child, we're often shielded or denied that, but as an adult, we benefit and suffer from our choices. Others affect us, but our lives are fundamentally our own. Even those bills, or the bad marriage, are our choices we are able to change if we choose.

And as much as I like rooftops, and beaches, and the woods, my choice is more along the lines of soft beds and quilts. These days, comfort is a big deal.

BTW, on an unrelated note, my race is Sunday. Wish me well, please, and send thoughts against heart attacks and widescale embarrassment. Doing this might be my choice, but I'd hate for it to be a fatal one :)

Getting in late tonight...Saw your light and thought I'd pop in for a quick minute...

One of the really great things about being a grandparent is the ability to see life once again through the eyes of a child. It's like the best of life all wrapped up into one perfect package...the joyfulness of a perfect childhood, combined with the wisdom and understanding that comes with old age, knowing what is important, and experiencing it with pure delight. It's one of the rewards of growing old (and not killing your kids!)

Very similar to a conversation I just had with my friends.

To me, we can only grow if we learn to move beyond our own boundaries.

If we stay enclosed within our comfortable walls, in little castles, we will never learn about the valleys and meadows and the butterflies that dance between them all...

You’ve succinctly succeeded in tackling the twin pillars of what it means to grow up. The attainment of wisdom
~ Knowing What to Say; and Knowing When Not to Say It.

M --
I love your ability to write about what is essential, while simultaneously investing those often harsh facts of life with a love for life itself, as well as for your fellow man, that invests your prose with poetry. Your talent, as well as your heart -- or vice versa -- are remarkable.

As for what you wrote about so eloquently in this post:

You are absolutely right that what was, was and that what is, is. That was the trade we all made to attain adult autonomy rather than the pseudo autonomy -- however wonderful -- that we knew as children.

Because I began to understand and accept that trade, many years ago, I am quite clear that no one is responsible for us, now, but we, ourselves. That grip on reality, though admittedly hard-won over time, is a source of pride. As it is also truly terrifying.

So I hear you when you talk about the fragile hold you may have on your job. Believe me. Because, if I should lose mine, I will lose not only meaningful work and health insurance, but also the actual roof over my head (which is owned by my employer). .... and, after losing the roof over my head that I owned, overnight, to a hurricane, I don't think it is self-pity to say that being homeless is my worst nightmare.

This boarding school teaching plan seemed a clever, even an inspired recovery solution after a sequence of financially-debilitating events. But, Caveat Emptor. I see, now, that it was a gamble that was ill-bet. I am entirely dependent on my employer for basic security in life -- a "room of one's own and 500 (pounds) a year.

So let's decide to be here for each other in the days ahead, when our prospects -- and therefore our choices -- may become even more constrained.

And kudos to ms3a, for taking on personal challenge, as well as to Lux, who surprises by being a runner's mentor --- or not, because Lux is a mentor to us all.

Bon Chance tomorrow, ms3a. With the advice of Lux, vaya con Dios.