The other day my 5-year-old grandson finally got to play in the snow. He had been waiting for snow since Thanksgiving, but it finally came. It was “sledding snow”, not “snowman snow”. Sledding snow is where the ground is covered just enough that your sled will slide over the top of the grass, but there’s not yet enough on the ground to make snowballs or a snowman. That didn’t seem to bother him. He had a ball with his sled.
When his mother detected a red nose and became concerned it would fall off, she made him come inside to warm up. She made him hot chocolate with plenty of tiny marshmallows. After warming up, he was ready to go back outside and start all over again. Life is good when you’re five.
Just before Christmas, my daughter and son-in-law bought us tickets for an event called “Jingle”. It was a family Christmas event held at a baseball stadium. Besides all the beautiful lights on display, it offered Christmas music, tube tobogganing and even ice skating.
I held my 2-year-old granddaughter while my grandson, daughter, son-in-law and wife went tube tobogganing. I watched as they climbed the steps of the stadium and got in line for the faux tobogganing hill that was provided for tubing. Each tube had a lane with bumpers, so several people could do down the hill at the same time. When it was their turn, they each jumped onto a tube and made their way down the hill. They were having so much fun and went several times. Gram (my wife) enjoyed it as much as my grandson, although a little assistance was needed at the end to help her out of her tube. Life is good when you’re XXXXX-XXXX (insert Gram’s age here).
After tobogganing, my grandson, son-in-law and I went skating. It was quite a chore getting me into my old hockey skates. My legs and feet aren’t as flexible as they once were and I didn’t have the strength needed to push my foot completely into the skate, but with the help of my daughter and wife, I finally got my skates on. Not only was there a skating rink, but they also had a skating trail which wove its way through the colorful Christmas lights. My legs were weak, but it felt good getting back on skates again and especially because I got to do it with my grandson. Life is good when you’re seventy.
What I discovered is life is good at any age as long as you take the time to enjoy it. It might have been too cold for my grandson to be outside sledding, but that didn’t stop him. Age might have stopped my wife from climbing into that tube, but that didn’t stop her. Myasthenia Gravis might have make me opt out of skating, but that didn’t stop me. When life is good, it usually requires an investment. It usually requires desire, determination, perseverance and commitment, but oh, it is so worth it.
Don’t let age or Myasthenia Gravis prevent you from doing the things you want to do. Both of those things will try to tell you that you can’t do something, but as long as it’s safe to do, you should at least try. Without TRY, you will never have DID. Life without DID is pretty dull.
The Roman poet Horace used the phrase “carpe diem”. That means “seize the day”. Go out and have some fun. Let your hair down. Do something out of the ordinary. Do something you want to do. Just make it your own. That’s how you seize the day. That’s also how the best memories are made.