Redefinition In Midstride

I stepped out of the warm and cozy beer factory into a winter wonderland. The entry for packaging, where we fill the umpteen freeking cans of beer, pop on lids and wrap them in nifty packaging to send to you is a good city block or so from the stairs to the parking lot. And, seriously, for the last 6 hours, all I did was feed this machine caps – 500 caps in a package, take one off the pallet, put it in the slot, take off the paper, do another… It could have been hailing frogs outside, I wouldn’t have known; I was just doing my best to not spill can lids all over the stinking’ floor (only about 1300 or so hit the ground; average for a new guy, they say…).

Well, it wasn’t frogs, but it was a good 8 inches of snow. It wasn’t even that cold, just, like, snow. Everywhere. Who knew?

Life is kind of like that, you get sort of heads down in it; whatever, you are raising kids, or you are caring for a parent, or you are a this or a that, and shit just kind of sneaks in. The good and the bad startle us in the midst of our “important work”. Someone I thought of as a dear friend passed just this week, and I hadn’t seen him for a while. Taken in retrospect, again I have to ask, who knew that when we passed for a few moments at the folks’ house, that would be my last handshake? And the truth is, you don’t know. You never know.

The ugly truth is, I have reached that age where it could just as well be me that doesn’t come back. It’s not a bad thing, but facts is facts – I am closer to the end of the road than the beginning. Doesn’t matter, here, what you think happens when that road ends, it does. And, it is a funny road. I will be damned if I saw myself as a factory worker at my age, but here I am; you drive the road you get. You can plan all that you like – I think that the Powers What Be enjoy our little plans and goals and daily affirmations. That is why They throw curveballs at us.

I am trying really hard not to drift into cliché, here, but things are cliché because often they are obvious (in hindsight) truths, often as not. I know that you, like me, are doing the best with the hand you were dealt. I know that, sometimes, you feel like you are over your head, that there is too much stress, like you are forgetting something important. It’s OK, we all are there. Take a deep breath, remember who you love, why you are doing what you do; clear your head for just a minute. If what you are doing isn’t right, it is OK to stop. If what you are doing is right, it is OK to do it. Living your life is the hardest thing you will ever have to do, so give yourself a break.

Oh, and the next time you say goodbye to someone you love, be sure they know that you mean it.