My Seventy-Fifth Year

Yesterday I wrote about getting older. Today I'm going to ignore that unpleasant truth and concentrate on recalling a happy year. Every year we wish each other a "Happy New Year" and then move on to the grim reality of work or just plain daily living with the occasional glimpse of happiness during the ensuing year.

But first, a short digression. In the first line above I mentioned the "unpleasant truth" of getting older and I want to clarify that. When you think about it the fact that we grow older is a pleasant truth since the alternative is an earlier death. So, actually I should say that getting older is a pleasant thing which I should appreciate.

Back to a Happy Year, my seventy-fifth year on this old planet. To regular readers of this blog it's old news but this year started with our fiftieth wedding celebration when we took a cruise from San Diego across the Pacific to and around the Hawaiian Islands. It was a timely respite from the cold winter weather of Seattle and a good way to celebrate fifty years worth of more or less happy years.

I say "more or less" because our marriage, like most I have observed (at least those that survive) are "more or less" happy. As with most things in life marital bliss is not guaranteed and a couple needs to work at it for a marriage to prosper. In our "give me," "victim" and "throw away" society I think too many couples don't want to make that (or sometimes any) effort and throw away their chances of marital success by worrying too much about who is the victim and who doesn't get their share. Both poor ways of running a marriage, or any endeavor in life.

In March we made a couple visits to a local Indian Tribal facility near Anacortes to admire the view of Mt Baker across the tidelands and salt water fishing grounds. Oh, and we also donated a few dollars to the welfare of the tribe via their casino. Another object lesson reflecting the basic truth that, despite the free room and glossy adverts there is no free lunch. Those few highly touted "winners" are paid for by the thousands of others who drop their money into the machines or onto the tables. But it's fun as long as a person exercises restraint.

April brought a nice visit to younger son and wife in North Carolina and a short trip to Japan for me.

Also in April I was reelected to the office of Quartermaster in my local Veterans of Foreign Wars Post. Some might say that wasn't such a happy thing but I enjoy putting in the hours as a volunteer and the responsibility of managing the day-to-day activities of a thriving VFW Post. And, as Ikuko says, it gives me something to do with my time since I retired.

In June and July I spent three weeks in Vietnam and Lao experiencing a down-to-earth vacation visiting the regular people halfway around the world.

Back to America I barely had time to adjust to Seattle time when, two days later, I went to Pittsburgh for our National VFW Convention.

In August we enjoyed a week at Birch Bay catching, cooking, cleaning and putting away crab for future crab cakes and crab salads. Oh, and we also had a few tasty morsels for dinner and snacks.

In September I turned seventy-six but that seventy-fifth calendar year continued to roll. We enjoyed fruits from our backyard nashii (Japanese pear apple) trees and although our prune tree had succumbed to old age we snagged a few tasty fruits from its seedlings just across the back fence.

October saw us spending three weeks in Japan visiting hot springs and attending the observance of Ikuko's parents fiftieth year memorial.

November with Thanksgiving and December with Christmas bring us to today, on the verge of another new year. This one brings new opportunities for travel, the comforts of home and the pleasures of being with family and friends.

Of course, not everything came up roses this year. All five of my siblings suffered from cancer of one kind or other but all with good outcomes so far. And two good, old friends passed on leaving a void in their places on my email list and in my heart.

As I said near the beginning, these events are no news to regular readers of this blog for I've tried to bring you along with me on my travels, seeing the spring flowers, enjoying good food and just living.

Oh, yes, that's another pleasure I enjoyed this year. My blog was started just this year. Seems like longer than that, maybe because a lot has happened this year. I'm glad I was able to share some of those good times with you.

Yes, this year was a good one, but aren't they all? Or at least they have the potential for being good years. Sometimes it's up to us to grab the opportunity and turn these years from hum-drum to fantastic.

As for me, I'm eager to see what the Year of the Monkey will bring to me and my family. Meanwhile, Happy New Year to all of you. May this year bring peace, happiness and the opportunity to grow.