Alas, however, all good things must come to an end. Sadly, my wife and I stood at the end of our driveway and undertook what has now been a ritual in our lives ever since our oldest first went away to college. We watched each of them, in turn, as they once again drove up the street and out of our lives. At least for the time being. Even now, we are already looking forward to Thanksgiving, when we can all be together again.
When I was a child, my parents liked to listen to Frank Sinatra. These days, so do I. “Old Blue Eyes” turned fifty back in 1965. That same year, he released a Grammy winning album titled September of My Years. The tenor of the album has to do with aging. And three songs in particular, It Was a Very Good Year, September Song, and the eponymous The September of My Years, all speak directly to the subject of the seasons of life.
Now that I am in my fifties, I can understand what Sinatra was attempting to communicate when he released these lyrics:
One day you turn around, and it's summer,
Next day you turn around, and it's fall.
And the springs and the winters of a lifetime,
Whatever happened to them all?
As a man who has always had the wandering ways,
Now I am reaching back for yesterdays,
'Til a long forgotten love appears.
And I find that I'm sighing softly as I near
September, the warm September of my years.
As a man who has never paused at wishing wells,
Now I'm watching children's carousels,
And their laughter's music to my ears.
And I find that I'm smiling gently as I near
September, the warm September of my years,
The golden warm September of my years.
If it is true that life is lived in seasons, then my wife and I may very well be in the autumn of our lives. Our children, having all recently finished college and gotten married, are in the early summer of theirs. Where they are now, we once were. And where mine and my wife’s parents now are, in the winter of theirs, we hope one day to be as well.
Of course, no matter where any of us are in our respective lives, it behooves us all to remember that life is short. Even if one lives to be a hundred, life passes all too quickly. For this reason, we need to make the most of each and every day. For my part, I see this now more clearly than ever. And I find myself relating more and more to the closing verse of the other song about September on the same Sinatra album (September Song):
Oh, it's a long, long while from May to December,
But the days grow short when you reach September,
When the autumn weather turns the leaves to flame,
One hasn't got time for the waiting game.
Oh, the days dwindle down to a precious few,
September, November…
And these few precious days, I'll spend with you,
These precious days, I'll spend with you.
It has been said that every day is a precious gift from above. And for this reason, we need to make the most of every such gift God gives us. Remember, each and every day, once spent, can never be recalled. The NET Bible translates Psalm 90:12 as follows: “Teach us to consider our mortality, so that we might live wisely.” As I enter the fall of my life, I clearly see the wisdom of such an admonition!
SOURCES:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_of_My_Years http://www.metrolyrics.com/september-of-my-years-lyrics-frank-sinatra.html http://www.metrolyrics.com/september-song-lyrics-frank-sinatra.html http://biblehub.com/net/psalms/90.htm