The Human Life: A Stolen Calendar

When God created the world, He started handing out years like candy, but not everyone was hungry for them.

First came the Human. God said, "I give you 20 years to be a man—to eat, sleep, play, and enjoy the world." The Human looked around and said, "Only 20? That’s barely enough time to learn how to tie my shoes, Lord. Give me more."

Then came the Donkey. God said, "I give you 40 years. You will carry heavy loads from sunrise to sunset and people will shout at you." The Donkey groaned, "That sounds like a nightmare. Take 20 years back, I don’t want them."

The Human whispered, "Lord, give those 20 years to me!" And God did.

Then came the Dog. God said, "I give you 20 years. You will sit by the gate, bark at everything that moves, and eat leftovers." The Dog shook his head, "Twenty years of barking? My throat will be raw. Take 10 back."

The Human jumped up, "I’ll take those 10, Lord!" And God did.

Finally came the Monkey. God said, "I give you 20 years. You’ll make funny faces, act like an idiot, and entertain the kids." The Monkey climbed a tree and yelled, "Ten years is plenty for a comedy act. Take the rest back."

The Human pleaded, "I’ll take the last 10, Lord!" And God did.

And that is why our lives look like this:

The first 20 years: We live our own life. We are young, free, and think the world belongs to us.
The next 20 years (The Donkey years): We get married, get a mortgage, and work like slaves. we carry the weight of the world on our backs and everyone expects us to keep moving.
The next 10 years (The Dog years): We sit at home. We growl at the neighbors, we watch the door, and we try to protect the little bit of "bone" we managed to save.
The final 10 years (The Monkey years): We get wrinkled and a bit slow. We tell the same stories over and over, making faces while our grandkids laugh at us.

We asked for the extra years, and we got exactly what we asked for.