WE'RE IN A QUIETER TIME OF LIFE

Here we are at the beginning of a new week.  The next national holiday to stir the masses will be in 17 days.......Thursday, July 4th.  Fireworks will most likely be held on Saturday, the 6th, so more people can attend.  

We look in the rear-view mirror at our annual July 4th patio parties with warm fuzzy memories.  It's a wonderful thing to have those highlights in life that lift spirits and balance out those not-so-wonderful times.  In my mind and heart, those parties and fun times are sacred.  Our invitation list was sacred, plus we welcomed anyone who was kind enough to think about us and drop in.  That old saying, more the merrier, is most often true.

We no longer partake of big gatherings, nor do we entertain like we used to.  Age determines many of the things we choose to do and choose not to do.  That's the perk of aging.  We are more easily forgiven for not continuing annual traditions.  Something happens in our higher years that's kind of baffling, actually.  Many times the two of us prior party animals sit here, look at each other, and comment how there's nowhere else in the world we'd rather be.  My definition is contentment.  A mighty precious commodity in this society that has seemingly been turned upside down.     

Contentment is defined as a peaceful ease of mind.  And, that's an accurate definition, in our case.  We worked so hard to get where we are, both before and after retirement.  We cannot extract ourselves from the daily fits and fumes and spits and sputters that come to all of us, but it's how a person feels about everything else.  We have our mantra IT IS WHAT IT IS displayed where it's clearly visible to us.  We cannot control anyone or anything besides what's within our unit here at Venny.  I think life has gotten so complex and so uncertain, that we no longer feel the urge or the need to go out among strangers anymore.  When we do bump into people our own age, the conversation seems to always veer off in the same direction.  Everyone feels the same.  All we want now is to feel safe and satisfied.  The rest is gonna happen without our input.  

Guess what I started out saying was how fast the summer is going.  Seems each month has something by which we gauge the passing of time.  January is New Year's Eve, February has Valentine's day, March has St. Patrick's Day, April has April Fool's Day, May has Mother's Day and Memorial Day, June has Father's Day, July has the Fourth celebrations, August school starts, September has Labor Day, October has Halloween, November has Thanksgiving, and December has Christmas.  

When one holiday ends, out of habit we look toward the next one.  Then we sprinkle birthdays, anniversaries and reunions in the mix, and so it goes.  I'm blessed with the anticipation of a cousin reunion the latter part of August, and that's my focus from now until then.  We can choose our main events, which is pretty cool.

There's an eerie haze out this morning.  Another very warm day is forecast.  It reached close to 90 degrees yesterday.  Neither of us ventured out, but rather the boyfriend watched his golf and racing on the telly.  I watched the taking of depositions on YT.  Watching people testify, watching the lawyers propose their questions, and watching how people evade answering.  One gets to where body language speaks louder than their words.  

Looks like it might rain, actually.  With the intense heat forecast, we'll take every drop that Heaven sends our way.  Till the morrow, ta-ta.