Happy International Chardonnay Day

Tonight, I cook whatever goes with a good glass of Chardonnay.

Not the First Time, But the Last

The Past is the textbook of tyrants; the Future the Bible of the Free. Those who are solely governed by the Past stand like Lot's wife, crystallized in the act of looking backward, and forever incapable of looking before. - Herman Melville, White Jacket

Memories are odd. Old habits die hard. But, what if IT was the last time? Would you do IT differently?

I had a quick trip up to San Francisco the other day and took the opportunity to search the FM band for music. A random radio station and a familiar song by The Who jogged the memory. I was transported back to the last time I stood in my basement hideaway in Michigan, right before the big move to California and my Junior year in high school. Everything was boxed up save for one record album and the stereo. I’d been unyielding in leaving the two items last and not get packed until the last possible minute. Before unplugging and walking out of my room and the house, I needed to say goodbye. I guess fifteen year old boys can be sentimental that way sometimes. So, the memory revealed “The Song is Over” as a personal, musical soundtrack to the end of a Michigan era. That song and that moment are one in my head forever.

There are moments in time denoted as an ending. Monumental endings are rare, but regularly celebrated or marked. Minor endings get washed away regularly. Maybe they shouldn’t be.

This could be the last EHTH blog post (doubtful, but it could happen). Maybe I should write this post differently, no?!

This could be the last Mac I own (doubtful, but things do change). I’ve also watched friends and colleagues convert to the Mac, yet there was not much talk about ending their PC affiliation.

That might have been the last time I imbibed a Pozo Martini (I’d hate for that to be true, yet I haven’t been out there in over three years). I remember the kids running around, a Spring day, bbq smells, and cold mason jar with bouncing olives. If I never go back, maybe that is a good last memory to file away.

Fashion IS change. It might be the last time you wear those favorite jeans. One day you may look in the mirror and see yourself in clothes from the 90s. Don’t you know the 70s are back? Maybe you should take those wonderful shoes out for one last walk around the block, just to say thanks for kickin’ it with me, before you casually chuck them in the trash.

The last time the diner club got together, it seemed unceremoniously forced and not fresh. That is no way to hang with longtime friends. That simply can’t be the last one. I won’t allow it. We should treat each gathering as if it was a special event as it very well could be monumental.

My wife and I just returned from a Marriage Encounter program, a retreat in the hills near San Juan Bautista. We had an incredible journey together, one which shall be cherished and referenced for years to come. One of the program questions asked, “What would you say to your spouse if you knew this was the last time the two of you could be together?” We wrote to each other, we talked about it afterwards, and we reached new levels of love and understanding. If something were to tragically happen, she knows now. But that is a tough question to talk about much less live with on a daily basis.

Flip it around. Think about it another way. We covet our cell phones like life itself, yet two years later we throw it away because the plan says we can. I change glasses every time I get the yearly vision check without batting an eye. We seek new wineries because vintages and winemakers change (and they no longer make that oaky, buttery chardonnay anymore, and have gone all stainless and minerally… bleah!). Google or Bing, does it matter?

Brand identity has become elusive in a disposable society, not always, but often. And, we rarely denote the switch from one thing to another.

If you knew today was your last chance or your last time with something, would you do it differently? I think the answer is yes.

So, maybe the saying should be changed from “live and let live” to “live and let go” … with everything.