31

Today I am 31. Somehow my age at once feels both young and old. Somehow grown up, but with a lot left to learn. Somewhat accomplished, but with much left to do.

The past few days have given me an interesting perspective on what’s really important in life. Those who keep track of these sorts of things are saying that the past week has provided an unprecedented economic rollercoaster; one in which Chelsea’s storied employer Merrill Lynch got gobbled up by another company. “Mother Merrill,” as some of the employees call her, survived the Great Depression but couldn’t make it through this Great Whatever We’re In Now. So Chel and I are considering the distinct possibility that her job might not exist soon.

Just before the financial hurricane hit Wall Street, Hurricane Ike hit Galveston and devastated one of our favorite places in Texas. Neighborhoods of beach houses have been reduced to matchsticks. And those who haven’t already lost their houses may end up having them condemned by the state for now being too close to the new shoreline.

Just before that, we put in some crazy hours at work to give the SMU website a fresh coat of paint to coincide with the university’s public launch of a $750 million fundraising campaign. I think it was a valiant effort, but I wouldn’t want to relive it. Along the way I missed two full weeks of law school classes and decided that, to save my sanity, I needed to withdraw for the semester. In effect, I’m pushing the reset button and will restart the second half of my legal education in the spring.

So that leads me back to today. I’m just sitting on our big leather chair in our living room in our house that hasn’t sold, thinking about all of these national and personal events and what they mean for this 31 year-old law school temporary dropout. The first thing that comes to mind is that I am so incredibly blessed to have this home that hasn’t sold…to have a job where I can work my butt off…to have the opportunity to even attend, much less take a little break from, a good school.

But the greatest, truest blessings in life can’t be blown away or laid off or dropped. Those blessings come from loving, and hoping. That’s why I think in my next 31 years, or months, or days, or minutes — however much time I’ve got — I want to do more of both.

I want to stress a little less and dream a little more.

I want to see a little less TV and see my family a little more.

I want to eat a little less and walk a little more.

I want to be served a little less and serve others a little more.

I guess in all things, I need to work toward balance and peace. So I’ll give it a shot, now that I’m 31. Seems like a perfect age to try.