On Top of the Hill, If Not Over It

I'll be 44 in about 2.5 months. That is a loaded statement, and the cargo varies according to the reader. When I read it, it is simply a truth, bearing no more weight than the time at the top of my phone's screen. I don't worry about Time. It is as inexorable a force as the weather.

I have been a poor time manager for most of my life, but I am fixing that. As I get older, I better understand the value of Time. While I cannot stop what Time will do -- and is doing -- to my face, my body and my thoughts, I can control how I spend MY time with my loved ones, how I can use it to better our lives, how we can squeeze a few more positive memories into the time we have together. There is much work to do yet, but the blueprint is laid out and the foundation is down. We are stringing more memories together with each passing week, strengthening those familial bonds. We are improving our quality of life, too.

Time is the only Ultimate Fighter with flawless technique and a perfect record. The championship belt is a gaudy tattoo around its waist. Rather than go head to head with Time only to come away broken and humiliated, I choose to study it, steal its best moves and use them to win the fights that I can.

There will be no wild May-December dalliances or bright red sports cars in this dirty old man's future. I think a happy wife and well-rounded children make for a better retirement plan.