My Second Gray Hair, Thank God

About a week ago I discovered my second gray hair. It’s a nice, long and obvious one, as firsts are. It is a strong reminder that I am no longer growing up, but growing old, and will eventually pass into decay.

With Prayer and Petition.

Today’s title came to mind a few days back and stuck there. I had no idea in what context, but it made me smile.

You see, people tend to ask for things they want. However, how often do people ask for what they need. Furthermore, when people do ask for their wants or/and need, how often do they believe they will receive them? Babies don't seem to have this issue at all.

As we age we get used to varying levels of denial. We make ask for a raise, and we hope we get it. We ask the bank for a loan, and we hope we get it. We may even propose marriage, and we are pretty sure that the answer will be yes.

How often do we pray about these things, and give our requests to God?
How often to we ask for something and EXPECT, BELIEVE, or KNOW that we will receive it.

I once read a medical article saying that patients chances of beating certain illnesses have as much to do with their personal belief that they will get better as whatever treatment they receive.

You may or may not believe in God, but you ought to believe in something.

Twenty Children Cannot Play for Twenty Years.

I was going through some old picture of my mothers of my cousins and myself and I was reminded of one of her perennial saying. “Twenty Children Cannot Play for Twenty Years. I was never sure what she meant until I look through all of her pictures. Most of them were dated 1985, 1986, or 1987. The snapshots were of smooth faces, bright eyes, and dated hairstyle fashions.

As I moved to my pictures that included 2000 and beyond I could see the difference in smiles, or lack thereof, spreading faces with facial hair, longer waistlines, shorter hair, and longer skirts. A lot of our youth and black hair had given way to more serious affairs over the last twenty years, such as jobs, mortgages, marriages, wives, separations, and kids.

The key thing that had changed was our smiles. There were far less of them. The wear and tear of life had laid into each of us in one way or another, and to one extent or another. Life had less weight to it then. Things were simpler. We all had less experience back then, but the problems of life were far less complicated.

Back then we were all on the same level in life. We were all still in high school. The world had yet to hold us accountable in the way it does now as men.

Play time, as we knew it is long over. Now, we have to make a point to remember to play, and more importantly, play with one another. Play in such a way to bring some of those smiles from the 80s back.

What To Do For Valentine’s Day?

It’s funny that Valentine’s Day is a different date in at least two other countries I know of. As I found out from my wife, Valentine’s Day is an even bigger deal in Nigeria than here in the United States. It seems I have my work cut out for me.

However, I’m loathe to give retailers more money for yet another pseudo-holiday. After all no one had to shell out oodles of cash on Martin Luther King, Jr.’s holiday, and that I would be happy to do.

My beef with the way Valetine’s Day is celebrated (here anyway) is that it has the danger of becoming a barometer for the relationship that it’s celebrating, if the givers aren’t careful. Especially, when recipient begin to compare gifts with one another. “Wow! You got three diamond rings AND a trip to France? I just got a rose and candy.”

With all that said, I have it in mind that it is my responsibility to know what pleases my lady (or at least do the research) and vice-versa. A ton of money doesn’t have to be spent. One can really be creative to give a gift that is priceless, just as love is.