Life's a Long Song

I'm sure the world doesn't wish to read my pontifications. I for one would rather gather pearls of genius dropped via the ethernet by Stephen Fry or Clive James. Perhaps, like me, you are also interested in people you actually know, or might know.

The thought for the day is that all those sayings about life being a journey and not a destination, etc., etc. are actually quite true. Having reached the great age of fifty-one I feel at liberty to share what I have found to be true about Life.

1. Life occurs in phases. Some are planned and prepared for (such as marriage) while others are not (such as death of a loved one)
2. Some phases are eagerly anticipated and enjoyed while others are to be endured. None of them are predictable.

So far I am in what I consider to be the 4th phase of my life.

Phase the First:
Childhood. The time when you don't know you're born, when life was good and (you later learn) was still good when it was bad. It's the bad that makes you appreciate the good.

Phase the Second:
Adolescence. In my case, the transition between childhood and adolescence was jarringly punctuated with a sledgehammer, by the death of my father. This phase was, to put it mildly, full of sunshine and tears, but a more accurate description of my emotions is that I alternated between breath-taking joy and the most devastating feelings of melancholy. Again, with hindsight, it was neither of those extremes, but a teenager's life back then could be, and often was, a soap opera.

Phase the Third:
Freedom. Going to college, getting in debt, ignoring letters from the bank, going home pleading poverty, getting a job, paying taxes, going on holiday with friends, making friends, losing friends, facing the cost of living, acquiring Stuff, acquiring More Stuff, having to answer to no-one (except the boss and the bank manager), learning to be independent.

Phase the Fourth:
Middle age. In my case this meant getting married, moving to America, having babies, acquiring Even More Stuff (and then gradually coming to realise I don't want most of it), making a home and realising I'll never have my dream home. Then realising that my dream home is where there is love, laughter, gratitude, contentment and appreciation for all that is good. Then realising that the rest of my family isn't there yet and having to be a parent.

Phase the Fifth:
Older than my parents. A year from now I'll be the same age as my dad (at the time he died). Can't predict that phase.