Yesterday

Nostalgia: a wistful or excessively sentimental sometimes abnormal yearning for return to or of some past period or irrecoverable condition. (Merriam-Webster.com)

      Every time I look in the mirror, I see an older version of myself staring back at me.  He has a more lines on his face.  His hair is a little greyer. He is not me because I know I am still young.  I am not THAT old, am I?

Before you, dear reader, contemplate the best (and most sarcastic) way to comment be secure in knowing I can easily acknowledge my age.  I welcome the grey hair.  Wavy grey hair is very distinguished.  Pair that with the right pair of glasses (bifocals because I am not only old but blind) and I make middle age look bearable! 

I do not mind getting older although I do miss my youth!  Regardless of what people may say or think nothing compares to the music of the late 1980’s and early 1990’s!  That is the music of my formative years.  Those songs take me back to a time before endless pandemics.  It was a carefree time when I never had to worry about paying bills, cellphone coverage, retirement plans or health insurance.  I was free to listen to Eric Clapton, Alice Cooper, Milli Vanilli, or Def Leppard.  Nothing compares to the emotional high I would receive from a rocking guitar solo in the middle of any “hair metal” song…except for marrying Melissa, seeing the birth of our children and the gold medal won by the Canadian men’s hockey team in Salt Lake City, Utah at the 2002 Winter Olympics!

I loved the era in which I grew up.  I have a ton of great memories (I am Canadian so TONNE of memories) of dances, first kisses, dorm life and friendships.  These were the years where mullets were “cool”; a time where slow dances lasted forever!  They were days filled with laughter, tears and being chased around the dorm while dressed up as a sheep.  Those years helped make me who I am today; for better and for worse. 

Not every memory is a great memory.  There were hard days and stupid mistakes, but my life is built on the foundation of those memories.

I am who I am because of the days gone by.  I do not look back and yearn for yesterday.  There are things I would like to do over if given the chance, but who does not feel that way?  I do, however, enjoy looking back and seeing how far I have come; how far we, as society, have come!  The world is not the same place it was twenty plus years ago and neither should we!

The older version of me I see in the mirror is a person I am becoming increasingly proud to be.  The scars I have are reminders of battles fought; life changing battles that have added to my character.  The grey hair stands echo wisdom gained from years gone by.  My bifocals…well that just means I am getting older, however I am glad that I have to opportunity to grow older!

There is much to be thankful right now!  Looking back is fun but there is an adventure lying before all of us.  Yesterday is gone.  You can never get it back.  Today, right now, is a time to build yourself up for whatever comes tomorrow! 

I may be getting older but, I believe, I am getting better as well.  Age becomes me!  So, bring on tomorrow.  Bring on the future!  Bring on more wrinkles and grey hair!  I will walk boldly into tomorrow with my head held high and a rocking hair metal guitar solo in my heart!

·         “nostalgia” Merriam-Webster.com. 2022. https://www.merriam-webster.com (Feb. 5, 2022)