Number Your Days

Summary

Jana Gillham reflects on the passage of time, the importance of cultural references, and the significance of focusing on meaningful pursuits, marking the first anniversary of her departure from a corporate career and the loss of a peer.

Abstract

In a poignant article titled "Number Your Days," Jana Gillham shares her personal reflections on aging and the changing of seasons, both literal and metaphorical. She recounts a moment at a grocery store where her cultural reference to the Osmond family's smile went unrecognized by a younger cashier, signaling a shift in generational touchstones. As she acknowledges the end of winter and the resilience of nature, she ponders the historical development of numbers, money, and calendars, and their impact on human organization and wealth. The recent attendance at a friend's funeral, coupled with the anniversary of her career transition, reinforces her resolve to live intentionally and without regret, emphasizing the value of time and the importance of using it wisely. Gillham also invites readers to subscribe to Medium through her referral link, offering them the chance to enjoy a diverse range of content and support content creators, including herself. She hints at her own work, "The Art of Farewell," as an example of her content that readers might appreciate.

Opinions

The author values the significance of cultural references and recognizes their loss as a natural part of aging.
She believes in the importance of acknowledging the passage of time as a reminder to focus on what truly matters in life.
Jana Gillham sees the development of numbers, money, and calendars as key to human organization and the accumulation of wealth.
She emphasizes living without regret and focusing on quality of action over quantity.
The author encourages readers to support content creators on Medium by using her referral link for subscription.
She suggests that her book, "The Art of Farewell," aligns with the themes of her article and could be of interest to her readers.

Number Your Days

Today in the grocery checkout line I told the young man at the cash register he had an “Osmond-family” smile.

“Who’s that?”

“Pretty people who used to be on TV.”

Losing cultural cues like purple socks is a sure sign of aging — for me and Donnie and Marie. I wish them well.

But. Writing this date: February 28 feels good. In my part of the world that means winter is pretty much done. An outlier storm might show up, but it will be a freak of nature at this point, so all of you early bloomers out there, and I mean dogwoods and redbuds, are safe. Mostly.

How did people measure things before numbers? Did they care about quantifying? Was it: “that stack of wood looks tall enough to get us through the cold times?” “That group of warriors looks bigger than ours… we’d better run…?”

It is hard to imagine what life was like before money and calendars. But both developed in various forms all over the world. Humans became organized (some more than others) and those who harnessed the power of time and money grew rich. Which reminds me … tax time is coming.

This month I celebrated the first anniversary of the release from the twenty-one year corporate gig. And yesterday I attended another “celebration of life” for someone not much older than me, who died in their sleep. Reminders to number my days. Focus my time on what matters. And it's not do more, it's do well.

No regrets, more resolve.

I wish you the same.

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Hello Readers!

If you want subscribe to Medium and enjoy a wide range of content, I would be honored to have you join Medium with my referral link — Jana Gillham. This is one way content creators are compensated on this platform, receiving a portion of membership fees for each referral. I encourage you to do the same if you decide to start writing on Medium as well, and welcome!

Also, if you like my content specifically, you might enjoy The Art of Farewell, released in 2021.

Best! Jana