Its All over Now

When we were tottering tots, teetering on the brink of walking through the wilderness, which we later discovered was our back yard, the world was a fascinating and fantastic playground of wonder. No matter where our eyes ventured forth, there was a kaleidoscope of colorful things that embellished our brain cells with awe, curiosity and the determination to touch it, smell it, taste it, and sometimes try to ingest it.  There was even grass, fluttering butterflies, tall trees, and floating flowers.  Then, one day, we were gallivanting about in our playful paradise, and tiny wet things began to caress our skin, and we had discovered snow … it turned everything around us into the most beautiful panorama of white wonder, and we began to run and romp around in it.  And before we realized it, we had grown to a later age, where our interests turned to other adventures…and as we looked back, we seemed to ask – is that all there is?  It’s all over now!

     The next thing we became aware of was a place the adults referred to as grade school, and we realized it also was full of new wonders.  There were other small folks just like us, - some we liked a lot and some we did not like at all.  But it didn’t matter, for the teachers were tutoring us in such ways as how to read, to write, to color, and to speak in a manner that ever our parents could understand.  We now knew that the tiny wet things were called snow, the tall things were trees, the fluttering things were butterflies, and the floating things were flowers…and found that we could count how many of them there were. We could now run faster, climb the trees, and learned new games to play.  Also, we now knew that the thing that moved was a vehicle, and we could ride a bicycle on our own.  And time marched on as we grew, and as we looked back, we asked – is that all there is to grade school?  Its all over now!

     High school had entered our life, and we once again discovered new marvels to wonder about, such as; there were many folks before us as we discovered history, and realized we could play sports and musical instruments.  We could converse with others more intelligently on all types of subjects like chemistry, where we discovered how nature built us, and everything else. There was astronomy, where we learned about stars, nebulas, novas, galaxies, quasars, and strange things called black-holes. Also, drawing, where we learned to plan before we build.  And we discovered that the girls took on a whole new meaning, and the same for the girls about the guys.  We learned to dance to the music we began to love.  Then, one day, we graduated, and life became more complicated, and our mind seemed to ask = is that all there is?  Its all over now!

     A whole new world appeared before us, where we were of careers to earn a living, houses with mortgages, taxes, interest, and insurance.  The girls had become even more interesting, and we suddenly needed them even more, so we asked them to marry us. And the same with the girls, for they said yes.  We now had children of our own, and discovered what we were like in our younger years.  And once again, we moved with time, and we seemed to ask – is that all there is?  Its all over now!

     Middle life had arrived, and we could travel to far-away places we had only read and wondered about in earlier years.  New friends had replaced most of the old ones, and we talked about sports, our careers, our homes, a variety of vehicles, and our children. We began to gain weight, and discovered parts of our bodies that never ached before.  We are walking slower, and some of our new friends were nurses and doctors.  And sure enough, the day arrived when our children left home, and we gazed into the mirror and wondered what happened. And we seemed to ask –is that all there is?  Its all over now!

     Most of us go through all those stages in our lives, and my happy self is not unique, for I also asked – is that all there is?   And one stormy and beautiful evening, I realized that it is not over now.  There are still too many folks to meet, new books to read, new snow to play in, new places to travel, and much more to learn.  So when I pass through that ebony tunnel into a new dimension or universe, I am taking my curiosity with me --- for the creator is going to give me my starship “imagination,” and I will discover places I have never been before. Imagine what you will discover next!