I grew up in a real neighborhood in a small rural town in Illinois. Back then neighbors talked to each other and shared the abundance of their gardens. In the summer neighbors would sit on their front porches or in lawn chairs under the shade of a tree.

As you read the brief interaction below you may see yourself. You may be a son or a daughter watching your parents or grandparents age, or you may be nearing the age of the father. Life has a way of sneaking up on us.

As I begin this blog I am sitting in a Starbucks in a neighboring community…waiting. The sky is overcast. A hurricane off the coast has already caused strong rains with the promise of much more to come. Inside the noise and conversation from the baristas is continuous.

On the day we closed the sale of our house a few years ago, I apologized to the buyers for the line of garbage bags at the street. Movers had loaded up the things we wanted to keep. We sold or gave away the things we no longer wanted, and the rest we placed at the curb in heavy-duty black garbage bags.

After 21 years of marriage, my wife wanted me to take another woman out to dinner and a movie. She said, “I love you, but I know this other woman loves you and would love to spend some time with you.” 

My mother is 87 and is in poor health. She is still mentally as sharp as ever, but her body is failing to the point that her quality of life is poor at best. With a voice sounding tired and worn out she recently said, “Growing old isn’t for sissies!”

Some years ago my kids were with me as I was driving home from a neighboring town. I had waited too long to get gas, and the car died while going up a hill. We were about a mile from the closest gas station. I coasted back to the bottom of the hill and asked the kids to pray with me.

A number of years ago several people mistook me for a local attorney. On one occasion I was in a grocery store when the attorney’s aunt saw me and addressed me as her nephew. On other occasions I was mistaken for a certain Hollywood star. Unfortunately, both of these men were several years older than me.

I was only ten years old when my grandfather died, and I took his death hard. I can still remember that day and the days leading up to his funeral. He died on a summer Sunday afternoon in our small hometown hospital. He had been watching the Chicago Cubs and had fallen asleep.

I was in my early teen years visiting my grandfather on his farm in Western Kentucky. Sitting in a chair under an old oak tree by the driveway, I listened as he spoke. 

My wife and I had taken our oldest granddaughter to Chick-fil-A. She is a cute, smart, and social nineteen-month-old. As we were eating an older woman walked by noticing our granddaughter, but she was on a mission to get to a table. 

I recently wrote a blog entitled, “The Power of Words.” As I was finishing I thought of this song published over forty years ago, but the message is still true today. Take the time to be with the ones you love and admire, regardless of their age.

Years ago I was in a local drug store waiting in line behind a lady who had already received her order. She was conversing with the pharmacist and seemed oblivious to fact that I was waiting behind her. I was neither in a hurry nor annoyed, but a thought came to mind that I remember to this day.

My paternal grandmother died shortly after I graduated from high school. We lovingly called her Granny because she reminded us of Granny on the Beverly Hillbillies show. She was thin with white hair in a bun, and she wore small wire rimmed glasses. 

A few weeks ago I sat in the sound room of a recording studio as a retired college professor recorded the text portions of two devotional hymnbooks we have developed for seniors. His voice, still deep and rich, resonated beautifully and almost flawlessly through almost three hours of recording. 

Grandpa, some ninety plus years, sat feebly on the patio bench. He didn't move, just sat with his head down staring at his hands. When I sat down beside him he didn't acknowledge my presence. Finally, I asked him if he was OK.