Life Is

Life is to me my main asset
I be doin' all right and keep it just like that
- lyrics from Life Is Too $hort


While I wouldn't necessarily advocate that others listen to the same music I did when I was a teenager, there were some good lessons is those songs. One of the artists, Too $hort, sang that life is not long enough to live it without self-determination.

From circumstances small to large, the theme of the month has been about change. It's a theme I embrace and am quite comfortable with.

I'm just not too sure how I actually am changed. Over the course of the month, or my life. Last week, Melissa and I went through my baby book and concluded that my life has been a testament to consistency.

Of my first experiences with money, my mother wrote: "Has always used pennies in gum ball machines - loves that!". While gum balls now cost a quarter, I still can't pass a bum ball machine without searching for spare change.

Of my second Christmas, she wrote: "Really liked opening his gifts, but wanted to play with each one as soon as he opened it." This is a source of contention each December as I hold up the rotation because I'm reading an instruction manual or trying to assemble whatever toy I've just received.

Last, of people I choose to associate with, Melissa found this excerpt in a letter to my grandmother I wrote while in the second grade: "There's a new kid named Bradley and he's my friend, so now I have 3 friends, including Brad." She laughed and said that still accurately describes me.

If the past truly is prelude, places and events may change, but I'll remain the same. Life is too short.