I have been driving the seniors bus since February, a little over 5 months at this point. Admittedly, dealing with the elder community on a regular basis is something I am unaccustomed to.
My mother and father have been gone for 21 and 17 years respectively , and even though I have frequent contact with others from that age group, it's not the same as the daily interaction I now have. 
The longer I am exposed to this group the more I recognize that there seems to be one common bond that they all share, the need for independence.
Time and time again, I hear this theme come up.
I see reminders of this constantly. When an aide is telling one of my patrons to do this or do that, the snarl comes out.
When I hear them speak of their living situation, independence is a priority.
Although they appreciate a helping hand, the thank you is often accompanied by a "you didn't have to do that" or "I could have done that myself".
I heard this loud and clear in a conversation on the bus this morning.
After listening and participating in this dialogue, it became clear to me just how much independence means to these folks and how important it is to honor that need.
Having not yet launched my word of the month for July and given that yesterday was the 4th of July, it seemed like a natural segue to use "independence" as this month's word.
That was until I realized that this need for independence was actually some thing much greater.
It's about dignity!
July Word of the Month:
DIGNITY
(the quality or state of being worthy, honored, or esteemed).These mature adults are merely asking to be treated with dignity.
They deserve it,(as do we all.)
They have earned it.
They have had this all of their lives and now in their latter years they are certainly unwilling to nor should they have to give it up.
It's not about ego. 
It's not about pride.
It's not even that they don't absolutely appreciate the help.
They just don't want the price tag to be their dignity.
The realities of aging are a fact of life.
We lose our agility.
We lose our mobility.
We lose hearing and eyesight and memory and even control over our most basic bodily functions.
But dignity....that we can never lose.
It's when we do that life becomes unbearable.
At 63, I still think I am a long way from that time in my life. Truth be told,it's certainly closer than I think.
I can and will ask for help with things that I once did with ease.
I realize that my age has come with some limitations on what I can accomplish.
I can accept this and make provisions for that.
I can set aside my pride,my ego and my need for independence.'
The one thing I will never give up is my right to be treated with dignity.
It is the one unalienable right that seems to mean the most to these folks that I have in my life on a daily basis.
Dignity....
We all deserve to be treated with it.
 I know for sure that I do.

As I drove around this morning taking care of some last minute details for our annual 4th of July BBQ, my mind wandered off to a very strange place.
I found myself thinking about all that I have lost or given up along my Journey. Friends who I no longer hear from, material things that I no longer have and income that just doesn't exist anymore.
I thought about opportunities that didn't pan out and business that disappeared.
I thought about the years that are now just entries in the story that is my life.
And while thinking about all of this, I realized that I had an amazing sense of calm and contentment.
There was no feelings of loss.
There were no regrets.
There was no self flagellation or negative self speak accompanying my mind's wanderings.
There was just peace.
And a sense of self awareness unlike any I have ever experienced before.
It was as if all of this loss was a necessary part of my Journey.
It felt as if with out having experienced these losses, I would not and could not be ready for all that is yet to come.
In Joni Mitchell's song Big Yellow Taxi there is a line that has haunted me all day long ....
"don't it always seem to go that you don't know what you've lost til it's gone".
While my heart feels the pangs of these words, my face has a smile of serenity, as if this is exactly where I need to be right now.

 Happy 4th of July!
(Play me!)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWwUJH70ubM 

My daily bus route takes me through some of the nicest communities in Bergen County. Million dollar and multi-million dollar homes line each an every road I drive down. 
There is an axiom that I learned a while ago.
If you want a better life , make better friends.
The same goes for junk.
If you want to salvage better stuff that people put by the curb for collection, hang out in better neighborhoods.
Last week I picked up a really comfy leather recliner. It's in excellent condition and is really comfortable.
Today, as I finished up my morning run, I spotted 2 outdoor rockers with foot stools. Yep, they are in the back of the car right now.
You want nicer things, pick nicer garbage!
Shavua Tov and have an awesome 4th of July!

So here we are ,Friday June 30th. 
It's not just another How am I doin' Friday.Today is the last day of the first half of 2017.
I thought about this a lot as I went about the early part of my daily routine.
I thought back to the end of 2016 and the beginning of this year and the 5 BHAGs (Big Hairy Audacious Goals) that I wanted to work on in 2017.
I am taking the opportunity to stop for a second, take a deep breath and see what has transpired before I look forward towards the second half of the year.
In the beginning of  Bereshis, Genesis, the first book of the Bible, ( yes it does start with In the beginning!) we read about creation.
For each of the first 7 days, The Lord set about creating. 
He created the Earth, the sky, the oceans and all manners of living things. 
Eventually he got around to creating Man. 
Man who he created in his own image.
I believe if He created us in his own image, He wanted us to be creators as well.
At the end of each day of creation, The Lord looked and saw what he created and he deemed his creation good.
As I look back to see what I have accomplished (read created) so far this year, I too can say I see what I have created and it is good.
I am the creator of my life.
It is a wonderful life.
Now, if in fact I follow this same line of reasoning, here on this How Am I Doin' Friday I am merely at a resting point before continuing my work. After all on the 7th day, He created the Sabbath, a place and time to rest.
 No where does it say he was done!
On the contrary, the work of creation is an on going process that will continue for as long as there is life.
As awesome as what has transpired in the first half of 2017 is, I must remind myself that there is more to accomplish, explore , learn and create.

Before I head off to do that, I must share something with you. 
What I wrote today came about as I drive my bus for 3 hours. 
I had not yet read my quote of the day.
 I had not yet listened to my Minute with Maxwell.
 I had not had my session with my mentor Darren Hardy.
If you have a minute, I would offer up that you might click on the links I provide or scroll to the top and re read today's QotD.
It's all so karmecally connected!

Shabbat Shalom!

Once again I find myself dealing with the one resource that ultimately is finite, time.
Every other commodity in life has no limits.
 If I want more wealth, I have the ability to create that.
If it's my health ,I can eat better or exercise or seek medical assistance.
If I want more friends, I can just jump on Facebook and in minutes begin 100 new relationships.
I can't think of any other resource as finite and defined as time.
 24 hours in a day,60 minutes in an hour.
There is nothing I can do to change that.
So when I find myself struggling with the idea that I don't have enough time, I have to remind myself that I have all the time that is available.
How I choose to use that time is ultimately the question.
I was asked to fill in for the other bus diver for the next 2 weeks while he is on vacation. 
My response......No problem!
Yeah right!
Today was day 1 and before I knew what was happening, my day was slipping completely away from me.
In what universe did I think I could add 3 hours of driving plus almost another hour of back and forth to the center, and still accomplish everything else that I do on a daily basis?
 It just won't or can't be.
24 hours....each made up of 60 minutes.
On Monday not only did I start a new cycle, I also committed to a very vigorous work out schedule. 
To facilitate these workouts, I would have to carve out a little more than an hour each day . 
One hour was manageable.
1 hour plus 3 hours plus 1 more hour for travel.....well you can do the math.
8 hours of sleep, plus these 5 new hours plus the 2.5 hours that I drive on a normal day, adds up to 15 1/2 hours.
Subtract that from 24 and we have a little over 8 hours to do what on a normal day takes me 13 or 14 hours.
Hmmm....maybe I could cut down on sleeping!
By noon on a day that started at 6:30 in the morning I realized that I would have to rethink my schedule and make some adjustments.
Bottom line is some things will have to wait.
Some things will be put on hold. 
And some things will just not be possible.
Prioritizing and then scheduling is the only way to address this.
24 hours.... each 60 minutes long.
Figure it out!
And I will.

Every now and again, , as the fog that often surrounds the mundane days of life lifts from around me, there is a day or 2 or maybe even a week, when inspiration catches fire inside of me and my energy level goes through the roof.
Today is one of those days.
Like lazily floating in your inner tube down a slow moving stream, completely unaware of the rapids ahead, I often get lulled into complacency. 
As the Sun beats down on me as I drift, I lose sight of the action that may be right around the next bend.
The constant lap, lap, lap,of the slow moving water is so mind numbing that I hardly notice that I am picking up speed.
And then in a moment, life shifts from ho hum to Holy Mackerel!
My heart starts racing and the blood starts coursing through my body.
Life becomes exciting again and it takes all of my energy to stay upright and safe.
The uphill climb of a roller coaster can be boring.
That is if you don't keep in mind the wild ride you are about to experience.I have always been cautioned that on the roller coaster of life,remember to always keep the bar down.It didn't take much to move me from sedate complacency to roaring through the day at 100 miles an hour.
That is where I find myself now.
The energy level is amazing. 
Still I must keep the bar down. 
Careless and reckless can and will result in catastrophic consequences.
I bought my ticket.
I have buckled myself in.
Now it's time for another wild ride!

 Extemporaneously:
(done, spoken, performed, etc., without special advance preparation;impromptu).
That is how I write to you every day.
I sit down at my computer, fill in my Quote of the Day, listen to and share with you my Minute with Maxwell and my Darren Daily and after updating the day and date I start typing whatever pops into my head. 
Sometimes as I begin this process, I remember a thought that I may have had or a tidbit that I wanted too share with you. 
Every once in a while, there is a day like today where I sit and stare at the screen and think to myself "I got nothin' today!"
Most times that occurs when my mind is looking ahead to what I want to get started on or how I want to go about getting my day underway. I just got a phone call asking for a favor.
It means carving out about 3 hours in the middle of my day to accomplish this task.
It really is no imposition, it was just unexpected and my mind needs a few minutes to revise my plans. 
It's like when I use a GPS (which is rare) and I miss a turn. There is that voice that comes on and says "recalculating!".
If I do not pay attention, the voice keeps repeating "recalculating....recalculating....recalculating" until I get back on course.
As I look ahead to the rest of my day, I find myself doing just that....recalculating.
I know what I want to accomplish today, (read:I know where I want my day to go) and now I must follow the map and the instructions to get me there.
 When I am in my car, I am never a big fan of back tracking.
I keep moving forward and plan out a new route.
How often do I see a driver who has missed his exit backing up on the highway.
There is no backing up on the highway of life.
If the speed limit on that highway of life is 55, I can't slow down to 35 while I try to figure out my next turn.
So now I am off. And as my GPS used to say to me..
"it's time to put the peddle to the metal!"
Zoom Zoom!