If I make it through the next fiften days I will turn fifty-six. I confess, that is messing with me a bit. I just recently read about something called a “three-quarter life crisis” and I guess I’m there. The article I was reading says it usually occurs during the late sixties or early seventies. Depending upon how long I live, I’m somewhere in the ballpark now.
Robin and I will celebrate thrity-five years as husband and wife at the end of June. September will make thirty-seven years as a couple. Our oldest son just turned thirty. Our middle child turned twenty-five back and December and our youngest turns twenty-one in June. Those numbers don’t even register with me. Part of me just can’t comprehend it. I was twenty-one when I got married. I was twenty-five (almost twenty-six) when our oldest was born and thirty when our middle one arrived.
I don’t know that I can actually say I’m in a “crisis” but I am on a serious nostalgic trip. I’m actually in the process of finishing my first novel and that has played a big part in it. The story is set in 1987-1988 and I’ve been listening to a lot of music from back in the day. Music always seems to transport me back, for better or worse. I’m sitting here listening to The Connells as I write this and my mind is hovering around 1990 when this particular album was released.
Another interesting thing happened that I think contributed to all this. I was one of the main characters in a play our local theater company produced. I had a blast and hope to do it again. However, the character I played was at least twenty-five (maybe thirty) years younger than I am. To top it off, he had a love interest and the young lady playing her is thirty-three. I won’t lie, that was a bit odd but the thing that really hit me was when I colored my hair so I would look somewhat younger. My castmates (and some folks from church) told me that I looked twenty years younger. That is somewhat flattering but my hair was pretty gray when I was thirty, so yeah.
I’m not sure what I felt compelled to write this. I really should be editing and re-writing the novel so I can actually publish it next month. Well, I’ve been saying I was going to write a book for nearly thirty-five years, I guess one more month won’t matter.
Grace and peace.
That 80s Pastor Dude 