Not Yet, Grim Reaper, Not Yet

I can still hear the 40-something me belting out the Wade Hayes lyric “I’m old enough to know better, but still too young to care.” Man, those were the days. I was a rebel. I was raging against the dying of the light! Fast forward to the 50-something me. And guess what? I’m starting to care. <h2>My race with Mr. Reaper.</h2> Somehow crossing the 50th birthday threshold has tripped a wire to a countdown, and the seconds are flying by ten times as fast. I’ve found myself in a footrace with the Grim Reaper. And it’s terrifying. I still have things I want to do! I’m running out of time! Should I retire sooner? I look backward. I look forward. Always trying to stay many steps ahead. At times I feel The Reaper is gaining ground on me. So I pick up the pace to regain some distance. Take that Reaper! For example: On our vacation this year, I was determined to do things I hadn’t done before. Things I feared. Things that challenged me. Things that told the Reaper, Hey, maybe I’m not going to catch her just yet. Things that told me, Well, if he catches me, at least I’ll have had these experiences! So I booked my wife and I a trip to the mountains of Asheville, North Carolina. A little cabin in the Pisgah National Forest. And I set about proving to Mr. Reaper just what he was dealing with. Once we arrived, my first task at hand was scheduling two all-day, outdoor excursions with the French Broad Adventure Company — pretty apropos, I felt, because this broad was determined to have an adventure. <h2>Adventure Number 1 began early Wednesday morning.</h2> We had to meet the group at 8 a.m. But my wife was having some intestinal issues due to the hard cider we had at the Bold Rock Pub the evening before. Oh, crap! What was I thinking! I can’t do this alone! <a href="https://medium.com/middle-pause/not-yet-grim-reaper-not-yet-ae0ab6a382cb">Learn More</a>