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STATE OF THE UNION

AND THEN IT IS WINTER…..

By: Joseph M. Valenzano

January 30, 2026

 

You know, time has a way of moving quickly and catching you unaware of the passing years.

 

It seems just yesterday that I was young, wings on my feet, recently married, and embarking on my new life with my wonderful wife. Yet in a way, it seems like eons ago, and I wonder where all the years went. I do know that I lived them all. I have glimpses of how it was back then and of all my hopes and dreams. But, here it is… the winter of my life, and it catches me a bit by surprise…How did I get here so fast? Where did the years go, and where did my youth go?

 

I remember well seeing older people over the years and thinking that they were years away from me, and that winter was so far off that I could not fathom it or imagine what it would be like. I was taught to respect my elders and always did.  My father used to tell me that the greatest classroom in the world was at the feet of an elderly person, and so I listened carefully to that wisdom.  But, here it is…my friends are retired and getting grey…they move more slowly, and I see an older person now. Some are in better and some in worse shape than I… but I see the great change… not like the ones I remember who were young and vibrant… but like me.  Their age is beginning to show, and we are now those older folks that we used to see and never thought we’d be.  Each day now, I find that just getting a shower is a real target for the day! And taking a nap is no longer a treat… it’s mandatory…because if I don’t take one of my own free will… I just sometimes fall asleep where I sit!

 

And so…now I enter into this new season of my life unprepared for all the aches and pains and the slow loss of strength and ability to go and do things that I used to do, or, wish I had done but never did!

 

But at least I know that though the winter has come, and I’m not sure how long it will last…this much is clear to me:   That when it’s over on this earth…it’s not over. A new adventure will begin!  I believe that with all my heart, and because my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, has told me that very thing.

 

Regrets, sure, I have a few.  But, really, too few to mention. There are things I wish I hadn’t done…things I should have done, but indeed, there are many things I’m happy to have done. It’s all in a lifetime.

 

So, if you’re not in your winter yet…let me remind you that it will be here faster than you think. So, whatever you would like to accomplish in your life, please do it quickly! Don’t put things off too long!  Life goes by very fast; it is like a blur, and before you know it, it will be winter for you.   

 

So, do what you can today, as you can never be sure whether this is your winter or not! You have no promise that you will see all the seasons of your life…so, live and enjoy today and say all the things that you want your loved ones to remember…and hope that they appreciate and love you for all the things that you have done for them in all the years past!  More than anything else, remember that “Life” is a gift to you. The way you live your life is your gift to those who come after. Make it a fantastic one, such that when it is time for you to leave, you will have left it all on the field of life.

 

AND ABOVE ALL REMEMBER THESE:….

 

Health is real wealth, not pieces of gold and silver.

Live Happy in this year and every year.

Consider also the following:

*       Your kids are becoming you.

*       Going out is good… Coming home is better!

*       You forget names…. But it’s OK because other people forgot they even knew you!

*       You realize you’re never going to be really good at anything.

*       The things you used to care to do, you no longer care to do, but you really do care that you don’t care to do them anymore.

*       You sleep better on a lounge chair with the TV blaring than in bed. It’s called “pre-sleep“.

*       You miss the days when everything worked with just an “ON” and “OFF” switch.

*       You tend to use more 3/4-letter words –  “what?, “when?”, “who?, why?”. ???

*       Now that you can afford expensive jewelry, it’s not safe to wear it anywhere.

*       What used to be freckles are now liver spots.

*       Everybody, it seems, whispers.

*       You have 3 sizes of clothes in your closet –  2 of which you will never wear.

*       Old is good in some things: Old Songs, Old movies, and, best of all, Old Friends!

 

Finally, I wanted to share with you something I once read on the walls of an ancient temple in Thailand.  It was an inscription written by a soldier on R&R from war-torn Vietnam.  The inscription read:

          “I shall pass through this life but once.  If, therefore, there is any

          kindness I can show, any good thing I can do, let me do it now; let

          me not defer it, nor neglect it.  For I shall not pass this way again.”

 

Stay well, “Old Friend!” Send this on to other “Old Friends!” and let them laugh in agreement.  And in the process, remind them that it’s not what you gather, but what you scatter that truly tells the kind of life you have lived.

 

God bless,

C'ya
L.Pyle#1621