Before I run out of time.

Maybe the nicest gift of all is time. Time to live. Time to do what one wants to do. Maybe as I get older I should be feeling that I’m running out of time. But oddly, it’s just the opposite. I’m living more for today. Savoring today. Slowing down. I used to be more in a hurry. Trying to do too much. Quantity over quality. Maybe the shift came after I retired. When I didn’t have to report for work. I wasn’t obligated to show up. Wasn’t obligated to write. But turned out that I wrote more and more and more than I ever did before. Because I was writing exactly what I wanted to write. I was set free, in a sense. And I began pursuing exactly what I wanted to pursue. Do as I please. Oh, not totally. I’ve always had certain responsibilities. But my priority came to be a decent and loving human being. Consciously. I always wanted to be decent. But I didn’t think about it enough. And now I think about it. Because I want to put my time to good use. Before I run out of time. –Jim Broede