I follow a remarkable account on TikTok. It’s called Tips From Dead People and that is exactly what it is. The creator is a woman from Minnesota who has always had a fascination with obituaries. I love her philosophy about a good obit: “They really focus on the little things in life and not the big things. By big things, I mean jobs, material possessions, the traditional milestones. The obituaries that we love to read go deep into the tiny things, catchphrases, jokes, nicknames, foibles, disasters, personal weaknesses, unexpected joys. That's really the good stuff of life, the things that we can all empathize with.”
Next chapters, yes. I'm of the age where there's possibly not time for many, if any, next chapters in the here and now. But I'm also of the age where I can look back and see so many different chapters my life has taken, from sailing around the world, to managing a restaurant, to getting my MA, to teaching college courses in composition and literature, to running a nonprofit advocating on social justice and environmental issues, to desperately trying to save my addicted son from himself, to raising his daughter, to finally retiring and writing full-time, and now working to publish what I've written. So many twists and turns I never would have imaged as a young woman. And yet still looking forward to what comes next if I have another ten or twenty years. And yes, extremely curious about what will come then, when I step at last beyond the veil that separates me from all I've ever know. Somehow I anticipate a new adventure, a new exciting chapter awaits me even then. If past is prologue, our lives may be a never-ending book of ever evolving chapters.
Next chapters, yes. I'm of the age where there's possibly not time for many, if any, next chapters in the here and now. But I'm also of the age where I can look back and see so many different chapters my life has taken, from sailing around the world, to managing a restaurant, to getting my MA, to teaching college courses in composition and literature, to running a nonprofit advocating on social justice and environmental issues, to desperately trying to save my addicted son from himself, to raising his daughter, to finally retiring and writing full-time, and now working to publish what I've written. So many twists and turns I never would have imaged as a young woman. And yet still looking forward to what comes next if I have another ten or twenty years. And yes, extremely curious about what will come then, when I step at last beyond the veil that separates me from all I've ever know. Somehow I anticipate a new adventure, a new exciting chapter awaits me even then. If past is prologue, our lives may be a never-ending book of ever evolving chapters.
Mine would say "His life was a vacation from sobriety yet he didn't drink a thing".
I think mine should simply say: “Almost”