Life Spans

The task at hand, mundane. Topping off the air in my car's tires via a portable air pump. (Get one.) And while I waited, a glance down at the ground. 

A butterfly. Resting? I waited, looked closer, then gently rocked it back and forth with my index finger.  No, not resting. I wondered, had it dropped from some great height? Had it landed first and then died? A short life? A couple of weeks perhaps as an adult butterfly?

I remember being a bit unnerved by turning 35. Felt like a sort of midway point. But I changed my mind when I figured I wasn't halfway through my adult years. That would be around my mid-forties I calculated. Would I care? As I recall, I didn't.

Some weeks before my 70th birthday, I did some simple arithmetic. On the date I was born in 1953, someone turning 70 that day was born in 1883. Someone born this year on my birthday will be 70 in 2093. Maybe all that is a goofy notion--certainly not my goofiest. But, I find the span of several lives when put that way eye-opening. 

And, dear reader, if you are under, oh let's say 50, just roll your eyes and get on with whatever strikes you as a better use of your time. Or consider your life, the span of it to date. 

Have you loved and been loved? Have you laughed? Have you cried? Have you been surprised? Shocked? Amused? Learned some stuff? Seen new things? Been to new places?

Yes? Congratulations. Fifteen or 30. Ten or 50. Or 5 even. You have lived a full life.