100 Posts and We Haven't Broken a Hip Yet!

Today is a special day. I've been looking forward to it for some time, in fact. Maybe a month or two ago, I noticed that I had written over 90 blog posts since I started A Chicken in a Cage with a Ferret two and a half years ago. Because of that, I've just written garbage for the past few posts so that I could get to this one. Welcome to (drumroll......) my 100TH BLOG POST! This probably ranks somewhere in the top 43 accomplishments of my life, for sure. There are so many people out there that I want to thank: my 17 followers, my five readers, the Starbucks guy that made my chai latte today, Don Miller for providing my blog title, my once-upon-a-time co-writer Caitlyn, Charlie for name-dropping me in his blog, and, most of all, I thank myself, just for being you. Go get 'em, Tiger. One hundred is an important number. I remember that when I was little, I was so impressed by how my older sister would stomp on empty soda cans and smash them, and I wanted to do it too, but she said that I would be unable to until I weighed 100 pounds. I was so distraught. As excited as I am about having 100 blog posts, however, I sometimes wonder how my life might be different if I had spent all the time it took to write all of this working out in the gym instead. I would probably get my lunch money stolen way less often.

Do you ever feel like you're always just waiting for the next thing? I do, and I think that the same is true of many people. For example, Christmas is over now. I remember how, when I was a little kid, the day after Christmas I would think, "Holy cow. Now I have to wait an entire year for Christmas to get here again. I would feel so down about the prospect of having to endure another 12 months of days not getting presents. Normal life is so drab when you compare it with Christmas, after all. We look forward to and wait for other moments in life, too. I wanted to go to Ozark for college since I was a freshman in high school, and I was often frustrated by the fact that I had to graduate high school before they would take me. Other people just can't wait for their wedding day once they get engaged. A good friend of mine is getting married this Saturday, and I think his fiance has probably been counting down the days since April.

These sorts of things happen all the time. Personally, I feel like I am always unsatisfied with where I am and what I'm doing at the moment because I am constantly looking forward to the next thing. There is a danger in this. We can spend so much energy focusing on some point in the future that we miss where we are now. I had lunch with my sister today, and we talked briefly about how dang old we are getting. I'm going to be 23 in a few weeks! I have no business being 23. People that age are supposed to have some sort of handle on life. I didn't really even own any long-sleeved shirts until yesterday. I'm obviously not prepared. The thing about getting older is that it doesn't wait for you to be ready. In school, you have to pass one grade to move up to the next one, but with age, you get older every year no matter what. They're no tests. You're just expected to keep up. Time is one cruel master. And yet, as I continue to age, I worry about what kinds of good things I have missed in my life so far because I was so concentrated on what's next. Conversations I could have had, laughs I could have shared, weddings I could have crashed.

It's all a pretty tricky practice. It's like we need three eyes. One to reflect on and learn from the past, one to be paying attention to what's going on in the present, and one to be planning for and looking forward to the future. We run into problems when one of these eyes starts doing all of the work. When we focus too much on the past, we get stuck in regrets and are unable to move forward in life. When we focus solely on the present, we make foolish mistakes and are ill-prepared for what might meet us in the future. And when we are too focused on the future, we miss out on what good things are happening in our lives now. It's not an easy thing to do, especially with people who as poor vision as me. So in this, my 100th post, my encouragement to you is this: Find out which of these eyes you need to give some special attention to, and try to work some balance into your life. Learn from the past. Live in the moment. Plan for the future.

When a television series films their 100th episode, I think they usually get a giant cake and have a big party for all of the cast and crew. And I wanted to do something similar, but I can't really bake, and I would be a big fatty if I made a whole cake for myself. So I did the next best thing--I bought a double-decker taco from Taco Bell to celebrate. Hooray a-for me!

And now here's your chance to join in the celebration. For those of you who have been reading my blog for a while, I'm curious if there is a specific post that you've especially liked. I want to know this for a couple reasons. First, I'm proud and arrogant and like to be patted on the back. But also, if I know what good things I have written, maybe I can do a better job of emulating those posts in the future. Plus, I have to know which ones to include in my book. If you leave a comment, I'll pay you with 100 high-fives (or "knucks", if you prefer), or I will give your greatest enemy 100 punches in the face. Your choice.