With my mother-in-law, Dolores Graff, celebrating her 88th birthday on Friday, my family will wrap up a month chock full of birthdays, including mine a few weeks ago.
If birthdays do nothing else, they give you a chance to reflect on the past year and evaluate what you have accomplished and what has happened in your life. Sometimes it is a good reflection; other times you may be left wanting to just forget.
Studies show that as you grow older, the years tend to blur together because there are fewer momentous occasions to distinguish the days. Once the single-year birthdays, graduations, wedding and births are no longer a regular part of your life, the days are just filled with trying to figure out what to make for dinner every evening.
If you don’t think this is true, glance at a rack of birthday cards. You can find cards celebrating every single year from one to 10 years old, but then the gaps start by leaping to 13 to mark the start of the teenage years, 16 gets its own section and 21 warrants a couple rows. But from then on, it’s every decade and the cards only get snarkier, like you are just lucky to be alive.
Unlike when we are young, people were hesitant to ask my age after wishing me a happy birthday this year. While I’m not going to scream from the rooftops that I’m now 48, there is an alternative to getting a year older and it involves an appearance on another page in the paper….the obits.
With seven kids, a question people regularly do ask me is if I wish I could go back to those days of diapers and bottles. Not a chance and not because I didn’t enjoy it. Yes, there were days that nighttime couldn’t come early enough but for the most part, I wouldn’t trade those days when the kids were small with days spent swinging at the park, swimming at the pool or sitting on the floor for library story hour.
But those days are over and can’t be brought back. Rather, I’ve moved onto the next phase of life where my kids are old enough to fend for themselves if I just don’t feel like making dinner.
O.K. that was never really an issue. I’m only half-joking when I say that I could be passed out on the kitchen floor and they would have used me as a step-stool to reach the box of cereal before calling someone for help.
Currently, the years are marked with high school and college graduations. The last two kids will soon have their driver’s licenses. And wedding and birth announcements are likely only a few years away. But those special occasions will come to an end and it is up to each of us to consciously make those years stand out.
A few years ago as the years seemed to start to fly by, I decided I had to do something momentous or outside-the-box each year. So I did an Ironman triathlon which required 15 hours swimming, biking and running. I acted (if you want to call it that) in a local theater production, despite the fact that my memorization skills are non-existent. And last year, I hauled 8 people around Europe for two weeks and lost no one in the process.
As for the future, I still have high hopes to publish a book, learn to play the banjo and keep a plant alive for more than a year. Sometimes, it pays not to set the bar too high.
As for aspirations for the community, I have 2027 marked on my calendar. Not only is that the year my youngest son will graduate from high school, but we better have a new aquatic center in place.
Whether it is the start of a new year or your birthday, everyone should take a moment or two to really consider what they would like to accomplish over the next year. What do you want to see happen over the next five to 10 years, whether personally or in your community?
And if you think you are too old to start something today, consider this: You’ll still be one year older next year. Wouldn’t it be great to be one year older and have something to show for it like being able to playing “Dueling Banjos” from Deliverance?
Most likely, we aren't going to be good at something at the start. But that shouldn't stop us from trying.
August 2025 Volunteer of the Month Bruce McDowell can be found walking around McCook for his health, to be helpful or maybe even attend a meeting.
It takes work and effort to be social but its vital to our community.
McCook's young people are shaping their hometown through a various projects.
MCFF Summer Hometown Intern Natalie Roberts shares how her perspective on McCook changed over the past few months.
With the McCook Aquatic Center closing soon for the season, another tradition - Mr. Bill and his 25-cent snow-cones - will likely be coming to an end soon too.
McCook among five Nebraska communities in Revitalize and Thrive Program
Getting Outside of National Night Out Nearly everyone can tell you their last interaction with the police or the fire department. And unfortunately because of the nature of the organizations, it is usually not at a positive moment. My last contact with the McCook Police Department was just a few weeks ago, when I was pulled over on B Street in McCook…on my scooter. I pulled into the wrong lane when making a turn, which is illegal. But in my defense, it was an act of self-defense to just get through the intersection of East B and Sixth streets alive. Since the drivers haven’t seen a stop-light since Holdrege, cars and semis regularly run the traffic light, which makes me a wee bit vulnerable as I pass through the lanes. I got off with a warning but the true punishment were the texts throughout the day from everyone who saw me with my scooter and the police officer. Since most exchanges with police and fire are not on good terms, National Night Out was created to have an evening of positive interactions, to remind the public that the police and fire departments are just normal people, doing their jobs, looking out for their friends and neighbors, trying to create a safe community for everyone. National Night Out is designed to simply join your friends and neighbors for an evening of fellowship and fun. It is an opportunity to meet local law enforcement, creating safer and more caring neighborhoods. McCook is joining thousands of other communities across the country in hosting National Night Out, which typically takes place on the first Tuesday of August every year. Planned for Tuesday, Aug. 5 from 5:30-7 p.m. in and around Norris Park in McCook, the night includes a bike parade, a walk, awards for bike decorating, desserts and more. In other words, it is simply a block party to hang out. Numerous organizations have come together to make the evening possible. CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) and the McCook Rotary Club are hosting a bike parade that starts at 6 p.m. Linda Maiden with State Farm, a bicycle helmet advocate, will also be in Norris Park. The streets around Norris Park will be shut down to provide a safe area to ride, as well as more space to cruise around the block. Participants are encouraged to decorate their bike, scooter, roller skates or anything on wheels. This could mean streamers, pompom balls, markers or even the old classic - playing cards in the spokes of your wheels. Some supplies will be available at the park for use if you show up and realize you are the most underdressed person at the party. If your bike has an inch of dust on it, this is a great time to get it out, wipe it off and get it rolling. And if your bike needs minimal fixes like a flat tire or a brake adjustment, bike tools will be on hand along with myself and my hubbie, who know just enough about bike repair to be dangerous but did manage a 300-plus mile bike ride last week so we must be doing something right. But let’s say you don’t have a bike or biking isn’t your cup of tea? Then you are still encouraged to join the “Walk in the Park,” hosted by Community Hospital. Designed to encourage a healthy lifestyle, walkers will stroll around the park and the neighborhood at whatever pace you feel like with strollers and dogs on leashes welcomed. And perhaps most importantly, there will be a chance to meet members of the McCook Police and Fire Department, getting to see police cars and fire engines close-up in a non-emergency manner, always the best way to see them. And if the weather cooperates, there may be a fire hose, water and spraying involved. If you have been at the Culbertson Fourth of July parade, you know it is up to you to stay out of the line of fire if you want to remain dry. We all have excuses for why we don’t want to go out at night, especially after a long day at work. But National Night Out in McCook on Aug. 5 is a great reason to get out your bicycle and lace up your walking shoes. Hang out with your friends, get to know your neighbors and meet your first responders. That is what makes our communities just a little bit better.
Judy McCune named July 2025 McCook volunteer of the month
Joyce Anderson named June 2025 McCook Volunteer of the Month
