When You Are In The 4th Quarter of Life

Thinking about the 4th Quarter of Life….

It’s late fall and when the sun shines on the remaining yellow and red leaves on the trees and there is a soft breeze to move them, it’s one of the most beautiful shimmering sights you can imagine. I find myself getting lost in sunsets, clouds and the beauty of God’s creation. But in the back of my mind is the nagging thought….winter is coming.

Winter is my least favorite season and reminds me that all things end. If life were a basketball game I’m definitely in the 4th quarter. I know it’s almost time for “game over” and while that sounds morose, I don’t dwell on it. I’m just happy to still be here and to still have Bill by my side. Besides, lots of great things can happen in the 4th quarter!

Memories

When I was a child the whole family went to my Grandpa’s house (my aunt and uncle lived there, too) on Christmas Eve. We feasted on quail and turkey and vegetables my Aunt and Uncle grew in the garden and froze throughout the year. I had lots of cousins and in order for everyone to have a seat at the table we had to have 2 tables (sometimes more). The children always sat at what we referred to as the little table and the adults sat at the big table.

My cousin Martha and I were the only girl children for a long time. We finally got two more girls but Martha and I ruled the little table for years. We didn’t like eating with all the boy cousins and we would look longingly at the big table and wish we were there.

I read something earlier this week about the holidays that reminded me so much of all those Christmas’s so long ago. I searched for it so I could share it with you. This is what it said…..

“Close Your Eyes and Imagine This……You’re a kid and it’s Christmas Eve and you’re in the back seat of your parents” car on the way home from Grandpa’s house and you don’t know it yet, but you should have bottled the feeling up because you will cherish it forever.”

Winter is the 4th Quarter

The winter of our life is fraught with challenges. We can either grow bitter or we can look around us and count our blessings. I have tons of people in my life that I am so very thankful for. My church family, my children and my grandchildren, my friends and neighbors. There may be things activities we can no longer do but we can focus on what we can do. Here are a few suggestions for passing time during the winter months.

1. Read-I love a good book! My two favorites for this year are The Women by Kristin Hannah and Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon. Book clubs are fun, too. I belong to some online book clubs and I really enjoy them.
2. Find something you can do to keep your body active. Chair yoga, tai chi, walking, pickle ball. Anything that keeps you moving.
3. Work on picture albums. Over the years everyone accumulates photos that they stick in drawers or boxes. Get them out and as you place them in an album be sure and include names and any other info you want future generations to know about. I have so many photos that I have no idea who the people are or where the photos were taken.
4. Puzzles are fun when it’s too cold to be outside.
5. Phone friends and family often.
6. Volunteer at a local school.
7. If you don’t already have a home church, find one. There’s no replacement for your real family but church families are wonderful.

We are a basketball loving family and that’s why I think about my life being in the 4th quarter. I’ve had a good life and if God so wills, I hope my game of life goes into several overtimes! But for right now I’m thankful to have made it to the 4th quarter and I’m looking forward to Thanksgiving.

I hope if you are in the 4th quarter that you stay busy not bitter! Thank you for being a NanaHood friend and may God bless you!

FYI-we have mixed seating now and guess what? I’ll probably sit at the little table just because kids are so much fun! The photo below was last Christmas. We have 3 new ones this year! #blessednana