Make every day count
I’ve been thinking about the concept of time recently.
Death has a way of doing that. After losing my younger sister, Claire, to
cancer in January, we lost not one, but two beloved nonagenarians in our extended
family over the past fortnight. Claire, who was in the prime of her life,
packed a mind-boggling array of experiences and friendships into her short time
on the planet. She took up politics on the latest stages of her life and was
still running for public office two months before passing. While Claire is no
longer with us, her spirit and her fight for
diversity and school curriculum reform lives on through her foundation.
The late Kay Morrison, 90, went back to college and graduate school AFTER her children were grown and remained passionate and active in the arts and civic activities well into her 80s. Oh, and there was the running thing. Although not athletic in her youth, Kay and her husband took up distance running in their 60s and competed in full (26.2 mile marathons) well into their 70s, earning medals at the Senior Olympics. Kay’s memorial service was today outside Washington, D.C.
My father-in-law Bill Sessions, passed away last week at age 96 after suffering complications from congestive heart failure and a 25-year battle with prostate cancer—that’s right 25 years! He was a chemical engineer and Fortune 500 exec by training, but in reality a renaissance man who was passionate about theater and opera throughout his life. He played tennis and golf through his 80s (nearly shooting his age), took a swim in 60-degree water every evening at the family summer cottage in Michigan through age 95, and in retirement became a nationally renowned woodworker who never really stepped away from his lathe.
The late Kay Morrison, 90, went back to college and graduate school AFTER her children were grown and remained passionate and active in the arts and civic activities well into her 80s. Oh, and there was the running thing. Although not athletic in her youth, Kay and her husband took up distance running in their 60s and competed in full (26.2 mile marathons) well into their 70s, earning medals at the Senior Olympics. Kay’s memorial service was today outside Washington, D.C.
My father-in-law Bill Sessions, passed away last week at age 96 after suffering complications from congestive heart failure and a 25-year battle with prostate cancer—that’s right 25 years! He was a chemical engineer and Fortune 500 exec by training, but in reality a renaissance man who was passionate about theater and opera throughout his life. He played tennis and golf through his 80s (nearly shooting his age), took a swim in 60-degree water every evening at the family summer cottage in Michigan through age 95, and in retirement became a nationally renowned woodworker who never really stepped away from his lathe.
It’s hard to imagine how much
change and disruption Bill and Kay saw during their lifetimes, but Neil Irwin’s
thought provoking piece in last week’s New York Times, Tracking Down the True Golden Age of
Innovation, puts some historical perspective on it. Depending
upon who you talk to, Irwin said it’s either a wonderful to be alive thanks to
amazing advances and healthcare and digital technology—or it’s a depressing
time to be alive since “innovation has slowed and living standards” (not to
mention human interaction) is barely rising. We can’t bully other countries
like we used to with our economic or military might—and even if the “presumptive”
Republican presidential nominee pulls an upset in November—America is NOT going
to win as easily on the newly level global playing field.Our blog and website have more about this and related topics.
Conclusion
On thing’s for sure, we have both more challenges and more opportunities than any generation in our nation’s history. Take a page from Claire, Kay and Bill—make the most out of every day and remember, you’re never too old to learn something new. As my father in law, Bill told my wife Brooke and I at our wedding, “Be Young, Have Fun!” Our 21st anniversary is today.
On thing’s for sure, we have both more challenges and more opportunities than any generation in our nation’s history. Take a page from Claire, Kay and Bill—make the most out of every day and remember, you’re never too old to learn something new. As my father in law, Bill told my wife Brooke and I at our wedding, “Be Young, Have Fun!” Our 21st anniversary is today.
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