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Recently I had my sixty-fifth birthday. Being a summer child, I have had the pleasure of basking in splendid, warm, sunny birthdays followed by meteor showers in the middle of the night. This year was no exception. Friends gathered on our porch, patio, and deck to help me celebrate reaching Medicare age.

At this age I realize a few things more than in my youth.

1. Irritants in life abound and our only hope is not to eliminate them, but to control our responses to them.
2. Everyone is struggling even if it looks otherwise.
3. "Stuff" is amazingly meaningless; friendship is amazingly important.
4. You don't have to be great; you can be good enough.
5. Work with what you have instead of wishing you had something different.
6. You gain confidence by doing things you are afraid of doing.
7. Speak up in support of justice and tolerance.
8. Win-win is the solution to aim for in conflict.
9. People CAN change.
10. Every day is a good day; you just have to rise to each occasion.