One of our neighbors likes to occasionally host a morning coffee get-together with about a dozen folks. He and his wife put out a spread of coffee, fruit, kolaches and donuts. In this world of virtual “friends,” it is good to be able to look folks in the eye, shake hands, hug, converse and laugh. Interesting revelations come out in that environment.

One of the men commented on the vegetable garden that is the embodiment of my “hope springs eternal so never surrender” attitude. It was a brief exchange about how I spend some of my time. At the end of the four-sentence conversation, he said, “Well, you’re young. You’ve got options.”

At 69, I am the young pup of the group, but I wouldn’t say that makes me young. This “pup” is getting long in the tooth, and I enjoy this phase of life immensely. One reason is because of the options that I have, thanks to the experiences, knowledge and wisdom that I have accrued over the years. His intimation that, perhaps, there comes a time when a person runs out of options of what to do with their time gave me plenty to ruminate about.

Yesterday, my wife and I went to a “celebration of life” get-together on the bank of Lake Limestone. The life that the man we honored had lived serves as a reminder that there are always options of what to do and how to live. His eight-year war with cancer was epic. I did not know him; his wife was one of my colleagues at a nonprofit I once worked for. In the stories shared by his wife, brothers, mother, father in-law, daughter, son and friends, I learned a lot about options. The disease ate away at his size, but not his humor; it wreaked havoc with his body, but not his faith; it tormented his systems, but not his interest in the world and the universe. I saw photos taken of him during his ordeal. The loss of hair and size did not equate to a loss of interest in living.

While age and sickness may rule out some options, they do not eliminate them. There are always options of what to do, who to be and who to become. With whatever breath we have, we can write, share stories, read to expand our knowledge, hug, laugh, cry or listen to someone else.
We are never out of options, until our breathing has stopped. We may just need to look in new places for them, including within ourselves.