One of the things I tend to do when a birthday or anniversary or New Year's Day rolls around is look back and reflect on my life.  Sometimes it's just a glance back over the past year; sometimes it's a long look back over my entire life.  As I look back over the highways and back roads on that mental map, I am looking back over my life, recalling the twists and turns, the curves, the hills, the detours and the stops along the way.  I recall the pot holes of pride I ran into, the hills of hubris I tried to climb, the U-turns of an ill-considered marriage, the s-curves I steered through trying to keep the peace, and the detours I took when I realized I wasn’t really making any headway in my life.  Furthermore, I can remember when I passed a few people along the way and several passed me by in my career.  I also had a few straight superhighways I sped down, windows rolled down, and great music filling the air.  Unfortunately, just as a driver speeding is more apt to have a wreck, so too did I when I played speed demon in my life which resulted in a major accident somewhere along my journey.  But best of all, how can I ever forget those rest stops of brief but wonderful times when I just let life slip by while I paused to do something pleasurable or be with someone enjoyable. 

To extend the metaphor a bit more, I have no idea what number my life exits on, but at this age, I know I’m a lot closer to it than I was further back when I first got on life's highway.  Just as we speed when we set out on a long drive, we tend to speed along in early life as well.  It is only as we get nearer to the end of our journey do we slow down as we realize that this pleasant journey is coming to an end. It is then that we finally begin to enjoy the scenery along the way.  The most amazing thing is how beautiful that scenery was and is.  I regret that I didn’t slow down earlier on my life's highway to more fully enjoy it. 

So when this New Year’s Day arrives, I intend to stop, relax and look back over my journey to this point, recall how enjoyable it has been, and then get moving on down life's highway again.  One can never be absolutely sure, but I think there just might be a few more mile markers I’ve yet to pass.

Drive with care, my friends, and enjoy your trip.  And have a happy and safe New Year.