Hey, life? Are you kidding me?

Glory Days?

Glory Days, huh? At first when I saw this prompt, I was like "Ohhhhh, yesssss, BABYYYYYY!" After all, I'm what some mean people might call middle-aged. I've lived! Things have happened to me. I know LIFE and a little bit of GLORY. But then, I read further and realized it was about the glory days of this year so far. Come on, now. I'm 42. It's not like I'm going to shoot the winning 3-pointer at the buzzer of a basketball game, or be nominated Prom Queen. Reflecting, it almost made me sad that I thought "glory days" only happened in youth.

Determined to recognize my glory days of 2011, I turned to the dictionary for support. This is what we have from Mr. Webster. (Well, actually dictionary.com - not sure if they are related or not.)

glory days: the time of greatest achievement, popularity, success, or the like

Many events came to mind, which, trust me, was a relief. Otherwise, we'd be whipping out the Xanax and curling up to watch Lifetime movies while crying that my life had passed me by. After careful study (apparently, I have way too much time on my hands right now), I realized the definition defined nothing.

Look at the words it used:

1. Greatest Achievement - vague. Whose standards are we talking about. Honestly, my greatest achievement so far was keeping the house clean for three months, yet I'm sure for many of you that's no big deal. Maybe some would say it was being nominated Teacher of the Year. But while honored, it didn't seem to fall in the greatest achievement category. I mean I didn't do my job any differently in hopes of obtaining the nomination. If we are talking work here, then it would be making the majority of 8th graders at my school realize that writing is not hell, and can actually be enjoyable. But that's not something you can measure or consider tangible.

2. Popularity - I have to admit this one pissed me off. First of all, again there is no measure - completely subjective. I like myself, so therefore in my eyes I'm popular. My students like me. Most my family like me. (We won't go there. . . yet.) Does the world love me? Are they screaming A-U-D-R-A as I enter the room, reaching forward trying to get a touch of my clothing. Well, not on most days. So to me as far as the popularity portion of glory days . . for me. . . at this time. . . it's the fact that I like who I am. I recognize there is vast room for improvement. But just the fact that I can admit that and know that each day I am working to be a better person means a great deal to me. Not seeking perfection, but rather progress.

3. Success - really? If we're calculating success by financial means - well, I'd have to stop writing here. SUBJECTIVITY - Honestly, I know many wealthy people that I wouldn't consider successful. Now, don't yell at me; some are, and I know and admire such people. I define success as accomplishing something that either I wasn't sure I could do or required effort that goes above and beyond normal activity. The first success that comes to mind for me is passing two certification tests that allow me to teach more subjects. I didn't need to do this, and I'm probably not ever going to use them. But I needed to see if I could. I didn't want to be stuck in a rut. I wanted to keep pushing myself. The day I found out I passed, had been a tough one for a variety of reasons. When I got the email with my results it was an instant validation that I did have strength to accomplish and overcome. It may seems silly to some, but it's what I needed. It was one of my "Glory Days".

I really haven't answered the question except to realize that your glory days don't stop as you get older, they just change. Instead of huge events, like a wedding or graduating, they sneak up on you daily. My glory days are seeing my son smile up at me when I wake him up for school. Sharing any knowledge or time I have to help someone else. I'm not a saint, trust me. I benefit from the good feeling of helping; it's not selfless. The day I had all the laundry in the house done and put away -- now that was a glorious day.

I have to say The Boss (Bruce Springstein) got it wrong in his song "Glory Days", when he sings:

Glory days well they'll pass you by
Glory days in the wink of a young girl's eye
Glory days, glory days

They don't pass you by, Bruce. They just don't scream out at you anymore. Maybe it is "the wink of a young girl's eye". Glory Days are giving me a subtle wink and saying, "You ain't doin' too bad, kid."