As days roll by and weeks turn into years I do like to reminisce about bygone days. The tales used to begin with the obligatory “remember a few years ago”. Suddenly the recollections of 10 years ago have now become the musings of life 20 and even…dare I say it aloud… 30 years ago. Today I am NOT going to chat about old age, but rather my preference to stay young…at heart.

Wiseguy and I are enjoying a lovely vacation in a country with lots of sunshine and palm trees. We are at a resort where we kind of just hang out with each other and babble about mundane non-serious things. For dinner we made reservations at a Japanese restaurant. I wasn’t sure how my hubby would handle this change from the regular meat and potato of his dinnertime dreams, but he was up for a change…to please me. So sweet. Well that impromptu change led to quite an adventurous evening.

Besides enjoying the knife juggling, the food was hot and fresh and delicious! Sitting in a group with other resort folk, we had a blast conversing and joking with people from other countries. We laughed out loud and had, not only an incredible meal, but fantastic company. It didn’t matter that we were midlifers. We goofed around and had a jolly good time! That was an excellent evening. Actually it was an excellent start to the evening. Our unplanned outing was about to get even more unconventional.

We went walk about down to a hangout called the “Sports Bar”. I was itching to play pool. Rack ’em up! The balls were all chipped as they would hop out of the table once you sank a ball and would roll randomly somewhere across the room. It didn’t matter. It was all in the name of fun. After an hour of chasing after pool balls we decided it was time to end our pool tournament and let others have a go. It was at this time that our planned early evening to bed took a drastic and memorable turn.

Two young couples had taken our place at the pool table and were having a jolly good time competing for the win. Wiseguy and I cheered from the sidelines. As their game drew to a close they sauntered off to a table to continue the party. And then they invited us middle agers to join them! Wonderful! Absolutely fantastic turn of events! We joked and laughed until our bellies ached from convulsive laughter! Our cheeks needed massaging from the incessant liberating smiles. The hilarious tales told, some with visual effects, will be etched in our minds forever. We laughed. We drank. We ended up at the disco next door and danced away. We were of one mind…have fun!

I am sure we made the strangest looking group, but it didn’t matter what others saw or assumed about us. We, as a group, shared a wonderful liked mindedness. Life is meant to be enjoyed. Memories and friendships can enter your life at any time and any place. When you are lucky enough to stumble upon a random unplanned adventure go with your heart. Your common sense mind might rebel, but by properly ignoring it your life will become a more full and memorable one.

With age comes wisdom…and creaking joints. You can choose to let your mind age your joie de vivre, or you can listen closely to your inner child and stay young…at heart.

(Shout out to our new friends: Amy, Ellie, Charles, and Sam. “Stuart” and I wish you all the best!)