You Only Live Once

You only live once but if you live right once is enough! — Mae West

Hey, hey, it’s my birthday. So I’m going to make this short and sweet. As I round the corner of another year (and add the 1,000th hash mark to my daily old house journaling quest), I’m ready to own and share a wise Mae West adage that I first read on a T-shirt worn by a fellow vacationer in Antigua.

I share the sentiment. And the conviction. It’s guided most of my decisions, big and small, for 30+ years. Important decisions. And fun decisions.

Like kiteboarding…

I’ve been interested in learning to kiteboard since the first time I saw the sport. It’s spectacular!

I’ll be a total beginner, but I’m a wake surfer, wakeboarder, and windsurfer. It seems to me that this adrenaline pumping activity should be viable for me… Hopefully I’ll manage to make the leap next summer! (Source: To Visit: Top 5)

Last summer, I tried, unsuccessfully, to launch my kiteboarding adventures. One lesson, but nary a windy opportunity for follow up.

Until now. Soon I’ll share an update.

Until then, another thought on aging.

I frequently contemplate the differing ways that we age. Some people fixate on the numbers, the statistics, the chronologically worsening odds. Others defy the odds, not so much by fighting age or existing outside of the real world continuum, but by mentally and emotionally transcending the pull of time. (Source: Ideals & Enthusiasm)

Aging is an omnipresent meditation for those of us who live in timeless homes. Like Rosslyn, I aspire to defy the odds. And kiteboarding, I’m discovering, offers yet another meditation on transcending the pull of time. And gravity!

Short. Sweet. Wise.