Minutes add up, use them wisely
I’ve always preferred words over numbers but lately I’ve been inspired by numbers. It may be because in this season of life at age 69, homestretch seems to be aptly descriptive.
As the song in the Broadway musical, "Rent," points out there are 525,600 minutes in a year. Which means I’ve spent 36,246,400 or so minutes since I came into the world.
Since early 2020 to today that’s about three quarters of a million minutes, the majority of which I’ve spent worrying, frustrated, irritated, socially distanced, talking-reading-hearing about and debating all things related to the pandemic. So many minutes, so much expended energy on so much that’s out of my control.
Valuable minutes, irreplaceable and non-refundable. Granted many of those spent minutes have been with people I love, friends I appreciate … and no small amount of laughing out loud.
As this summer season heads into autumn I’m not going to wait until New Year’s Eve to resolve to use my life’s allotted minutes finding the good, the positive, the productive and the inspiring, which all things considered is right before us daily.
One of my favorite movie quotes is from "The Wizard of Oz" when Glenda the Good Witch of the North tells Dorothy, “You’ve always had the power my dear, you just had to learn it for yourself.”
The past 18 months turned me into a person who some days was unrecognizable. I may be a slow learner but I no longer intend to see life through a COVID-clouded lens.
My favorite day of all is today.
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The filing deadline for municipal and school trustee candidates began Monday and runs through Friday, Sept. 3 at 5 p.m. Election day is Tuesday, Nov. 2. That’s plenty of time for people to become informed, verify your voting status and then vote.
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Happy Birthday today to JJ Jaegar, Jeff Selle, Ali Shute, Angie Penzkover, Rhonda Budvarson, Staci Anderson, Cindi Carlson, Mack Mannschreck and Lydia Myers. Tomorrow Sofia Armstrong, Andrew Evenson, Pam Grenny, Cam Crollard, Juilianne Rinard, Perry Peterson, Warren Bakes, Irene Watkins, Troy Blood, Lita Balbin and Phil Higgs (80!) blow out the birthday candles.
Jan Berry (70!), Peggy Sawicki, Ed Mitchell, Mike Wood and George Forgacs celebrate on Friday. Super Saturday birthday wishes to Dirk Scott, Freya Jensen, Jack Reiswig, Marissa Leupold, Steve Slaney, Michelle Garcia, Samantha Dirks, Becky Fletcher, Darlene Johnson, Judy DeTar, Karen Huber, Laurie Sutton, Loretta Richards, Pearl Brown and Spencer Messina (21!).
Best wishes on Aug. 29 to Jeannie Peugh (80!), who shares the date with Ashley Smart, Stacey Holley, Randy Marmon, Cindy Foulk, Bob Myklebust, Lori Barker, Cody Jewell, Merle Bartlett and Arvada Schmacher. Monday salutations to Cyndie Lempesis, Luke Sommer, Carrie Kralicek, Jarin Bressler, Bjorn Handeen and Stefany Mealey as they take another trip around the sun. On the last day of August Andrew Houser, Ron Nilson, Jill Delavan, Patti Shea, Gen Twete, Craig Wilcox, Jamie Ostbert, Dan Poole, Donna Euler, Mike Gerber, Nicole Stark and Rondi Renaldo turn page on the birthday calendar.
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Kerri Rankin Thoreson is a member of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists and the former publisher of the Post Falls Tribune. Main Street appears every Wednesday in The Press and Kerri can be contacted on Facebook or via email mainstreet@cdapress.com. Follow her on Twitter @kerrithoreson.