While I was cleaning out my house, I found a framed copy of a column I wrote 20 years ago.

It was done in the same style of the “Just for Today” articles that are often seen.

A reader framed it and sent it to me because she said she thought it was worthwhile.

In looking at what I wrote so long ago, I found I kept some of the vows I made back then but failed with others.

I started the column by saying just for today I will love each and every moment of the day. I will regard each moment as a treasure … a special treasure that is mine, all mine.

I can honestly tell you I have kept that vow. In fact, the older I get the more I understand the gift we are given with every day of life.

Some days might be harder than others, but every day is a gift. I start off each and every day saying thank you for the gift of the day. I remind myself that no matter what obstacle is before me, the day is a gift.

When I look at life like that, I remain thankful.

On the daily walks I think of those who never got to open their eyes to a new day. It reminds me not to take a single day of life for granted.

In what I wrote many years ago, I said I vowed to celebrate life by being good to myself. I vowed to spend more of the day doing what I want to do, not what I have to do.

I didn’t do very well at keeping that vow. In fact, the older I get, the more it seems that I spend almost all of my time doing for others.

In conversations I’ve had lately with my friends, we all seem to find that as females we are the family caretakers. When our children are young we spend much of our time doing for our children.

Through the years, most of us don’t lose our role as caring for others. It’s almost like it’s ingrained in our DNA.

More and more, with David’s physical struggles I find myself being the caregiver during much of the day.

Because we are shortly moving to a senior center where I won’t have to do all the cooking, home maintenance and caregiving, it opens up the possibility of more time to take care of myself.

My daughters are warning me that I have lost the capability to care of myself. I tell them I do what I have to do, but they say they won’t take that excuse anymore.

Sometimes it’s ever too sweet to have adult daughters who care about me.

They said they are going to hold my feet to the fire to make sure I go back to getting more exercise. We’ll see how that goes.

I have seen some of my friends join a gym and start doing daily classes. It has made a major difference in their health and in their outlook and contentment.

I say I want to do that and I will, at least as much as I can.

Long ago I wrote that just for today I will focus on simple things that please me without feeling guilty about wasting time. I said I would sleep longer, if I want. That’s a joke.

If you can enjoy a good night’s sleep and extend that sleep if you want to, please know how blessed you are.

Some of my retired friends told me that they thought when they no longer had to be controlled by an alarm clock they would sleep as long as they wanted.

The big surprise for them was their body rhythm seems to continue getting up the same time as during their working years. Then, many find themselves getting up earlier than when they worked.

Now, I learned that a good night’s sleep is a blessing not to be taken for granted. I’m at the point where I’m reading those articles that say how to get a good night’s sleep.

Tips for a better night’s sleep could make an interesting articles. If you have any tips, let me know.

Long ago I vowed to be a lone player in a scavenger hunt, searching for simple pleasures. I knew I would find those simple pleasures not in exotic places but in my own kingdom — my yard and my home. That is a vow I have kept, every single day, no matter what happens.

My favorite paradise after dinner is my own backyard, where there are always birds and wildlife that delight me.

And during the rare times when I’m having a bad day the simple cure that works for me is to go outside, find a quiet spot and breathe deeply. If you can in a tranquil setting, so much the better.

So many people use the deep, controlled breathing.

Just for today, I will smile. I will smile at people. I will smile at myself.

Most of all, just for today, I will know I have been entrusted with something special. When I get up each day I know I have been given the gift of life.

Just for today and every day, I will cherish that gift.

Email Pattie Mihalik at newsgirl@comcast.net