The "Where Did This Past Year Go?" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Just returned home from the grocery store after buying a week's supply of food and household essentials.  Still remember when my family included not only my wife, but two sons and one daughter and the grocery bill was quite a bit more.  But, looking back 40 plus years, the bill for groceries at that time with three children was about the same as it is today minus the three children.  And...if I am lucky enough to live another 20 years, my grocery bill will more than likely be another times as much as it is today.  The problem then will be that I probably will be making the same amount of money that I am today.  Going to have to eat a bit less!  Well, we are just about at the end of another month and it will be time to flip the last page of the calendar over and greet another new year.  How did those months go so fast?  Spring and summer have exchanged their warm and balmy temperatures for the cool autumn breezes and the frosty morning chills of early winter that bring an occasional shiver such as the recent snow covering.  So...how did the calendar year disappear so quickly?  Each day still had 24 hours in it and each month still was the same amount of days as past years, but time seemed to disappear so much faster.  The reality of turning over the last calendar page for the year reminds us that not just another day is past, not just another month, but an entire year has gone by and the more times that takes place, the larger a perspective I have to reflect upon.  When I began to drive I had 16 years to reflect upon.  Then came another four years after finishing my college education to reflect upon.  Wasn't long before I had another dozen or so years with three children to reflect upon.  I now have yet another couple of years to reflect upon with no looking back and a smaller window of future years to anticipate.  Where did all that time go?  But, hey...I still have most of this month and then all of a new year.  Life is good!  Always has been!  And, I'm hoping I have another couple of years to keep writing my stories to share with you.  Hope you don't mind that I will be telling you a bit more about my life and the life of my family members.  I really enjoy the time I take each day to open my Mac and write another story to share with you.  I know....sometimes I forget and write the same story over or maybe forget an entire day, but writing my life's history gives me a chance to see just how lucky I have been.  Even though I tell you that it is another ordinary day, most of my days are anything but ordinary.  Since my wife and I have just moved to a retirement community, we have an entire new group of friends to meet and enjoy.  So...you can count on another year of stories from me providing my fingers last that long.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.