Yesterday started out as a very ordinary day. I got up and had breakfast with my wife. I then wandered around debating whether or not to go out for a run. I didn’t really feel like it but I finally acquiesced, put on my running clothes and took off. I normally run to a hospital about one mile from the house and run through their campus because the roads are well plowed in the Winter and it makes the run less dangerous and more enjoyable. As I was finishing the run and heading off the hospital grounds, a car pulled up beside me and a pretty young woman gave me a big smile. It was my daughter. What a pleasant surprise that was. She’s in her final year of medical school and is doing a surgical rotation with a plastic surgeon at the hospital. She had just gotten done with surgery and was heading back home. I had completely forgotten that she was there. That made my day. I have to admit that I had a little flashback to the days when she was just a little girl and when I’d come home from work she’d give me that big smile of hers. What a joy and blessing my little girl has turned out to be. My wife and I are so very proud of her.
Later that evening, I was watching a repeat of the series finale of the TV series JAG. I had seen it before, but this time I noticed the background song playing during the final few minutes of the episode. The song is called, “100 Years” and is sung by the group, Five For Fighting. What an amazing song. The piano melody is beautiful but the lyrics are what truly set it apart. I’ve included the lyrics below. It’s a song that explores a man’s life as he passes through the various stages of his life. When he’s 15, he’s longing to become an adult. At 22, he’s found his true love and things are great. At 33, he’s still a man but now he’s married and has a child on the way. At 45, he’s having a midlife crisis and looking back at his youth. Then he’s halfway through his life; suddenly he’s in his sixties and wise but life is quickly passing by. Finally, he’s 99 and dying for just another moment and longing for his youth. The chorus line throughout the song is telling you that 15 is the perfect age to be because you have your whole life ahead of you – time to buy, time to lose, time to choose. “There’s never a wish better than this, when you’ve only got 100 years to live.”
Seeing my daughter that morning and hearing the words to that song in the evening provided a needed moment of clarity in my life. Life is quickly starting to pass by. I need to enjoy the moments of the present. I can’t do anything about the past and I can’t worry too much about what the future may bring.
Click this link 100 Years to watch the video. It’s a beautiful song. Highly recommended.
Lyrics for 100 Years by Five For Fighting
I’m 15 for a moment
Caught in between 10 and 20
And I’m just dreaming
Counting the ways to where you areI’m 22 for a moment
And she feels better than ever
And we’re on fire
Making our way back from Mars15 there’s still time for you
Time to buy and time to lose
15, there’s never a wish better than this
When you only got a hundred years to liveI’m 33 for a moment
Still the man, but you see
I’m a They
Kid on the way, babe
A family on my mind…I’m 45 for a moment
The sea is high
And I’m heading into a crisis
Chasing the years of my life15 there’s still time for you
Time to buy, Time to lose yourself
Within a morning star15 I’m all right with you
15, there’s never a wish better than this
When you only got a hundred years to liveHalf the time goes by
Suddenly you’re wise
Another blink of an eye
67 is gone
The sun is getting high
We’re moving on…I’m 99 for a moment
Time for just another moment
And I’m just dreaming
Counting the ways to where you are15 there’s still time for you
22 I feel her too
33 you’re on your way
Every day’s a new day…15 there’s still time for you
Time to buy and time to choose
Hey 15, there’s never a wish better than this
When you only got a hundred years to live
