Expiration Dates

Expiration Dates

I’ve gotten in the habit of checking the expiration dates on food items in the pantry and in the refrigerator at home and especially at my parent’s house on the Cape.  Expiration dates are a guideline and plenty of items last longer than the printed expiration date.  But plenty of items – I’m looking at you bagged salad – go bad before the expiration date too.

Memento mori: “Remember we all die”.  I’m in no hurry, but I’ve seen too many reminders that it’s all just a brief stay on this earth before we’re faded snapshots in someone’s photo album.  Even those had an expiration date.  Today your photos are on a hard drive or parked in a data center somewhere.

Memento mori.  This Stoic reminder pairs well with Carpe Diem.  Know you have an expiration date and strive to live a larger life now.  Take the leap while you can.  Don’t be an irresponsible idiot, but damn it make the day memorable for yourself.  I wrote that line and the sun just burst through the thick fog over Buzzards Bay.  Talk about validation.

That bagged salad may still be edible when you have a few soggy, decomposing spinach leaves in the mix, but it’s not nearly as enjoyable.  Living a bold life is far easier when you’re healthy and fit than when your sick or frail.  I don’t have to look far to see what time does to all of us.  So make the most of today.  You never know what tomorrow might bring.