It’s Never Too Late For Old Dogs To Break Old Habits

Yesterday, my husband and I decided to discontinue our subscription to the New Yorker magazine that we had for over 50 years. We found that the weekly issues were piling up on our coffee table more frequently than ever before. Current news had become outdated stories. We didn’t have any interest in checking out the well-written fiction or scanning the cartoons that always entertained us. Not that the New Yorkers haven’t piled up in the past, but whenever we talked about dropping the subscription, we couldn’t follow through. This time was different. We gathered the journals in a pile and recycled them en masse. Surprisingly, it was easy to do.  

Unsubscribing to the New Yorker magazine could be looked at as an effort to no longer define ourselves as Yankees. We’ve had a southern address for almost 30 years. While I haven’t totally lost my New Jersey accent, I’ve come to love collard greens, pimento cheese, and grits, along with the warm hospitality of our Southern neighbors. Our three grandsons were born south of the Mason-Dixon line. 

Not that the reason to ditch the New Yorkers was a statement that we relinquish all things northern. The more pressing reason was to move on to the present. Especially at our advanced age. We no longer need to continue with the habits that we have historically carried around with us. How much time do my husband and I, both in our 80’s, have before we depart this mortal coil? Holding on to past habits takes away time these old dogs could use to learn new tricks. 

I hope it’s just the beginning. We’ll try in the future to be aware of what we do that is repetitious and prevents a new path of action or thought.

It’s never too late.