On my walk this morning it occurred to me that trees are like people. Some are big and some are small, some are magnificent and stand out from all the others. And, like people, some are healthy, some are sickly, some are dying. There was a beautiful white oak tree along the trail where I walk but it began to die right after the trail was installed eight years ago. Perhaps it did not like it’s roots disturbed (there is an analogy: when people have their homes and their familiar surroundings taken from them they often pass quickly). Now it is gone without a trace. Some people are like that, too. After they pass, there is little to remind us of their lives. Someday, when I die, I would like to be buried under a sapling beech tree, and after 200 years, when no one is left alive to care that I ever lived, the tree can be harvested for lumber and another tree planted with another body beneath it. But I am also hoping to leave behind more than a body for fertilizer. I am hoping to leave behind a new way of aging with grace 50+ and a new and dignified way of caring for those who need help in order to live happy lives.

My birthday is this week. I am turning 60. In honor of my birthday we are giving away a free week of attendance here at the club for new members. Please help us spread the word. This is a wonderful time to join the club! May God bless you and yours this coming week.