Ah life...

*cue opening credits of one of those 80's "narrated" movie sequences and it's all filmed in sloo00oow moo00ootion*

...every now and then it throws you a curve ball.

You know that time, you're traveling along, enjoying life thinking things are good. The biggest complication in your life is deciding whether you'll go out for dinner or eat in. You're in a good place. You're meeting your work challenges head on (if they exist), you're enjoying your friends company, you're enjoying meeting new people, you are laughing a lot. You look in the mirror and think "Hell, you're not the most gorgeous man on the block, but hey, it could be worse, you're not fat. Hey, by 39 you really could have really let yourself go... at least you're healthy," and then

*cue "smack" sound effect and sudden end to the slow motion *

that curve ball arrives.

Now, here comes the tricky part: That ball's target is not you physically. It won't hit you smack bang in the face. Its target is more ambiguous... It's going to make you think. You don't physically feel it. It targets your emotions... Somehow it hits you right there and you feel it. You weren't prepared for this. You hadn't even anticipated this to be able to prepare.. actually, you couldn't be prepared. This is all new. And you now have to interpret what that means to you... The game has changed. You've just become aware of a whole new set of issues because of it.

But you're happy. Things aren't exactly bad. What has been and what lays ahead make it all worth it. You take a deep breath in, then out and quietly under your breath you say "Game on Mole... Game on."

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Ok, hang on a sec - was that last paragraph a cop-out?