What a red-tailed hawk taught me about the power of aging

[Editor’s note: This essay first appeared in the “Chapters of Our Lives” issue of PREMIUM Magazine, which featured personal storytelling.]
Nestled on my porch, a cup of coffee in one hand and binoculars in the other, I spent the spring watching my neighbors. I’ve been watching them for almost 20 years, and I can’t get enough of the drama, but this season’s storyline was hitting me harder than in years past.
I bought my house in 2004, a 1925 Craftsman-style sur