and then one day, it just slaps you in the face

So i woke up today with the usual zest in my heart and spark in my eye. I was excited for the day and was up, showered, shaved and ready to go by 7am. I didn't have to be at the airport until 10am so i felt great about being ahead of schedule. I brushed my teeth and got my gel ready and thats when i noticed it, the lone gray hair that official says "you are old".

I was hoping not to spot one til I was at least 45, but mine came early. Not yet 38 and there in the mirror was the one thing that is a reminder that we all will one day pass from this majestic place. The gray hair symbolizes, to me, the end of my youth and the passage into the adult stage of life. It also represents that I should be at a different place in my life than those around me.

I guess this could be as shocking to some as say getting the news that your wife is pregnant, or that your son/daughter is going to graduate college. For those of us that have remained in the single realm of life, it is a shocker, but an inevitable truth that we must face and that is that we all age, we all get old and eventually we will die.

Many of you won't get your first gray's for a while. They are almost like military medals. Some of you have already had the joy of having a gray or two. The ultimate truth is, it is a shocker, no matter where you are. You want to believe so badly that you aren't getting old and that you look great, but father time waits for no one.

I guess this begins the last chapters of my life. The reality that we are not meant to live forever and that we must come to grips with all of the facets of our lives no matter how pleasant or shocking. Avoid stress at all cause and if you must have it in your life, make sure it is eustress, not distress. Love all those around you and don't take your moments for granted, even the ones that let you know you are human, like finding the gray.

Until next time.