Q.: Why did the man throw his clock out the window?
A.: He wanted to see time fly.

We have to find humor wherever we can because the older we get, the faster time flies. There are places to go, things to do, people to meet…soooo many opportunities if we just open our minds and take a chance.

As youngsters, many of us thought the weeks passed so, so slow. We lived for the day that we would experience the rite of passage: high school graduation. And our parents and grandparents advised us that we should enjoy being kids while we had the opportunity because once a grown-up, life is never simple and fun again.

We didn’t believe them, though. We wanted to be old enough to make our own decisions, our own rules, and our own mistakes. And we did all of that.

It hardly seems possible that all of those things occurred so long ago. With each crisis, each deadline, each addition to the family, life became more complex. Life has thrown curve balls we never expected when we were planning our lives. Well, it is written that when man plans, God laughs.

One concern that comes to awareness is how to cope with coming of senior age. Who wants to get old and feeble? But worse is getting so caught up in worrying about getting old and feeble that the opportunities we have right now elude us. However, there’s the fear that, should money be spent traveling and having a good time, what will happen later when we are old, feeble and unable to take care of ourselves? How will we pay for our care?

Life is meant to be lived. All too quickly it is gone. When I’m lying on my deathbed I don’t want to think about how I didn’t chase my dreams and travel and enjoy family, friends and love. I want to go out still reaching for the gold ring, still laughing and at peace because I lived, really lived. Life, regardless of how quickly it passes, is a wonderful gift.

We also need to be practical about planning our last years. But that’s not what this article is about. This article is about living and enjoying as much of it as we can.

Some years ago I remarked, “When my husband and I retire, I want to travel.” Someone responded, “Don’t wait until you retire. Start now. If you wait until you retire, something will happen to one of you and you won’t get to go anywhere.”

My husband and I took our first vacation in 35 years in mid-June. I mapped out our journey with the help of Yahoo Maps, printed it out, snagged our road atlas and headed for North Carolina. It was a relaxing week spent with friends. We’re ready to do it again! And are anticipating a trip in September.

The U.S. highway system is the best in the world…interstates are well marked and relatively easy to follow, making travel more user friendly than ever. I do recommend that you be a good map reader/navigator. But even if you get lost, all roads point to home. If you don’t want to drive, check out bus tours departing from your area. There is adventure available that will lift you out of the doldrums and give your sense of humor a breather. And you’ll make friends along the way, make great memories and feel good.

Enjoy those opportunities together. Plan ahead so you can have enough time to line up the financial resources to enjoy the trip. Working and planning together is quality time that bonds a couple even closer.