63 and flying

I turn 63 this Wednesday. Just like everyone else, I don't know how, can't believe I am this old already. I feel 35 everyday. Don't look 35, just feel it. I love my life, every aspect of it. But one of the things I love the most is looking back at all the things I have learned, all the things I have been able to do that a young person can only dream about. I have taken a midnight ride in a canoe on the Nile River with Arab men who were total strangers to me and my 2 very blonde girlfriends.

I have stood in front of the Sphinx and the Pyramids of Giza.

I have hiked through the jungle near the equator to the cremation of a Balinese Prince and delighted in the piles of fruit that were perched upon the heads of the mourners who walked along side the float that delivered the dead prince to his burial pile.

I have traveled down a red dirt road lined with gum tree forests to peer inside a cave at Aboriginal Hand Paintings.

I have sat across the table from patients who were crying because they didn't know how they would possibly handle a life with diabetes in it and then seen them leave my office with a smile on their face because now they knew where to start and how to make it happen.

I've laid next to a river in the Sierra in the pouring rain fearfully wondering exactly how Dave and I were going to die when the river purged its banks…would it be quick or slow?

I've played golf with a caddie at a fancy country club and with kids at Las Po and found I like playing with kids far better.

So, I was thinking this morning of some of the wisdom that has crept into my life because I have had the privilege of living 22,995 days, some tough days, some miraculous days, but all days that have been designed just for me to grow up.

My 22, 995 days have taught me to...


Laugh every day…a belly roar with a nose snort is best but even a baby chuckle makes me glad to be alive.

Give a lot…stuff, money, time, sweat--- until you know the difference between giving because you have to and giving because you want to.

It's safe to ask God to give you someone to love. He never says "No."

If you ask God to give you a friend, be patient…you'll be blown away by the answer. I was.

The sweet smell of a cat's fur nestled under your nose is a gift from heaven.

Golf is not a game for old people, it's a game that keeps everyone young and full of crazy hope.

Stop wearing a watch or jumping on a scale to see where I am.