The Best is Yet to Come

  I admire my girlfriend's never ending optimistic attitude toward life. She signs all her letters with Frank Sinatra's song lyrics, "The Best is Yet to Come." Says the same thing when the girls get together and raise their glasses of wine. I don't, however, believe it...
  I consider myself a realist. The new year is coming and it may hold the best for you. Maybe you'll get a promotion, your teenager will be voted homecoming queen, you'll see your unborn child's heartbeat on the ultrasound. I hope that something happens so extraordinarily awesome that it rocks your world. 
  But along with all that incredible good fortune, you will suffer. Your air conditioner may breakdown in the middle of the worst heat wave in Texas, the IRS will discover a discrepancy in your taxes...you may lose a loved one. Thinking about those things doesn't make me a pessimist. As I said, I'm a realist.
  What's the difference, you ask? Let me tell you. 
  I had been called to my mom's memory care center (she has Alzhiemer's) for yet another problem. As I entered the building a thought popped into my head...this will never end. I almost staggered at the concept. Endless issues, mostly with no solutions. It took me a bit to unravel... to recover... from that insight. But I did.
  Here is the undeniable truth...none of us knows what will happen in 2018. I'm going to assume the worst. You know what I'm talking about, of course. A zombie apocalypse. There's been so much talk, after all. So, if my days on earth are numbered, I'm going to savor what I have left. 
  This morning I saw the sunrise as I went for my run. Beautiful. I've had some hamstring pain which has put me in a panic. If I can't run... I could lose my mind. Twinges to my thigh as I jogged, but it's healing. Thank God. Somewhere in India, they keep growing tea. Bless them. My cat did not climb on my chest and tap my cheek in the middle of the night. Ok, I won't feed her to the zombies. All day today, I can eat until I'm full. I can shower past removing the sweat- just because it feels good. 
  Frank is wrong. The best is not to come...it's already here. We just have to learn to recognize it.