As Time Passes and We Get Older

 I started thinking about how time passes when reading some of the articles about the birthday.  It was interesting to think about it from the different points of view.  Besides, it kind of fits as a follow up the last post (the whole saga of can the two brothers reunite).

So there is the requisite article about how he will be getting all kinds of money willed to him from his great-grandmother.  There were stories about Princess Anne as trustee (and not allowing earliest access to it all).  Whether or not any or all of this is true (there was money for him and/or other kids) has been debated with claims she actually died owing money with the Queen paying the debts to avoid scandal.  Don't know but I seem to remember that royal estates are shrouded from the public so we may not (ever) know. However, strange things like assisting in a book after repeated denials have popped up in legal papers so nothing is ever really predicable.  

We are also seeing more articles which not only talk about how the whole town is filled with people who have money, status, big houses, what they specifically have accomplished but how they are treated by the local people who work in the shops and restaurants - not special.  Isn't that interesting?  Why are we reading about this now?  A place where there are lots of other rich productive people who are living their life but not making a big deal about it, what they are currently doing or planning to do?  And, when they do something, they aren't talking about their life in Montecito.  

Except for that one time we saw some shots of a school run, we've not heard or seen anything about this part/or type of daily life.  Isn't that interesting?  Some think it is about protecting the kids the way we have heard that he felt he was not protected.  Maybe.  But if you look back at those photos, what you often see is unbridled glee, joy, happiness at doing something with a parent(s).  Think about the shot of them riding the boat and being splashed - the kids are having a great time, the parental unit(s) is having a great time - doing something together - just like other families.  It can (probably) be said that the kids rode more than just that boat on that one trip (unlike the few "public" happenings which just happen to be a coupe of sequential only shots not repeated again in the entire event).  

Articles about filling his now daily day (compared to what it used to be way back when) with walks, rides and an occasional outing to show support for something or other.  Kind of sounds like each day is pretty much like the next only differentiated by this one has a dental appointment and that one has the koi people scheduled.  

This every day like the next actually sounds a little mind numbing which really makes the days and years go by slower and faster.  Slower in that time never seems to change from one day to the next while faster in that the years go by and yet you really don't notice that they did until you come up against some marker day like New Years (resolutions), birthday (another candle), wedding anniversary or, sadly a day marked by the loss of someone you loved.  

Forty is kind of pivot year I think.  Perhaps I think of it the first half of my life and then the next half.  So ... for many people, they start looking of their 40 as similar at what and where have they been successful so far in life.  What have they accomplished?  But also what do they still want to do?  For many, they may be thinking about how to pay for college for the kids or what will my retirement look like (or when or how will I pay for it)?  What hobbies to I want to pick up?  Former President Bush was still skydiving at 90 so people can make all kinds of changes they suddenly feel freer to try as they get older. 

So ... it will be interesting, as always, to see what happens next.