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Dee McLelland: Celebrating a birthday
Dee McLelland new

I’m going to be honest.

This week marks a few things for me. First, my birthday fell on Monday, March 1. Yep, 62, with every wrinkle, ache and missing hair that goes with that age. Before my friends start whipping out your cat calls because you’re older than me you can keep them. I just thank the ground I walk on every day and will keep cherishing each and every day, month and year as long as I can keep collecting them.

I have found over the last few years that some things just don’t bother me as much as they used to. I’m talking about the petty things, the little things that back in the day would have driven me crazy. I also know there are things that didn’t bother me years back are on my high alert list now.

Here are a few examples of things I like and don’t like as I grow older by the minute.

Football: If my favorite football team loses, I know they will play another game and will win at some point again. I watched Alabama win a national championship and my New Orleans Saints go down in flames again. I call that batting 500. The Saints will play again next year and my hopes will be just as high for Alabama.

Litter: I hate litter more now than I did when I was younger. Back before people got serious about litter it wasn’t uncommon for me to toss something out the window and not think a thing about it. Now, a paper bag or any other type of litter drives me up the wall.

Trees: I believe they are some of the most beautiful things in the world. I notice them constantly now. I never paid much attention when I was younger.

Grass: Both kinds. I love a beautiful yard of grass and love when it covers every square inch. I’m not a marijuana smoker and never have been, but it seems to me there are a lot more dangerous things in the world nowadays. As a youngster I was taught the evils of ‘smoking weed,’ but as I grow older, I don’t really see the harm. Now if you want to start talking about the evils of prescription drugs and other illegal drugs I’ll listen. The legalization of marijuana in states is a direct assault of the pill companies that wanted to keep everyone addicted to their ‘legal drugs’ rather than marijuana, which by the way, isn’t addictive in my opinion any more than smoking. Enough on that because I could for a while.

Couples: I see older couples now and think more about my relationship with my wife, Deborah, than I ever have. It was something when we used to see older couples that we thought they looked “sweet.” Now that Deborah and I are an older couple I like to think we are “sweet,” but I also like to think we will have plenty of time to be “sweeter.” Deborah says that she used to be the person to help an older couple get their groceries in the car and now she gets asked if she needs help.

Friends: I believe I have had many friends over the years, but the friends I have made as I get older are the most cherished and the most important to me. Youthful friends move, change and fade away. The friends you make as an older person are much more meaningful. I have found plenty here.

If you see me, say “Hey, Happy Birthday!”

Dee McLelland is Publisher of the Coastal Courier and the Bryan County News.

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