The legendary television writer and producer turned 98 on Monday, and two days later, he posted a video to Instagram in which he reflected on this incredible achievement as well as on the passage of time.
“Good morning! So this is the day after my 98th birthday,” he began, as the video was filmed on Tuesday. “It was my birthday yesterday. I’m into my 99th year, and it feels remarkably like my 98th year, which felt remarkably like my 89th year. I don’t know, it’s all the same.”
“I can’t help, however, realizing I’m closer to that time when goodbyes are in order, I realize I’m not concerned about the going, I just don’t like the leaving,” he added. “And yesterday so solidified that, because I was with all my six kids and grandkids, and surrounded by all the love I receive, all the love I feel.”
“Leaving is hard. The thought of leaving is hard,” he added. “But the adventure of going remains to be seen. I’ll get back to you.”
Lear celebrated his birthday on Monday in Vermont with his wife, six children and four grandchildren. On his birthday, he posted a video in which he described Vermont as “the most priceless, glorious place I know” and “second home for my entire family.”
“My morning thought on my 98th birthday is where can I go out and dig a mind deep enough for the gratitude I feel, or how can I fly to reach a place that meets the deepest amount of gratitude I feel?” he said. “If you’re watching this long, I’m grateful to you for that, too. And my morning thought is… each man is my superior, each woman also my superior, in that I may learn from him and her.”
On Tuesday, Lear had something else to celebrate when he received four Emmy nominations for ABC’s Live In “Front Of A Studio Audience: ‘All In The Family'” and “Good Times.” His wife Lyn was honored as well for The Great Hack, a Netflix documentary she executive-produced.
“I have a lot to be grateful for,” he said in a video. “With me also happens to be my wife, Lyn Lear, also nominated today for The Great Hack, a wonderful documentary. So we are the lucky Lears!”
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