Anticipating Future

Years back I would see a home I liked and think, ‘one day we could make that happen.’ Or, I’d see pictures of interesting places around the world and think of the day we could travel there and experience it for ourselves.

What lies in the future? A lot of possibilities.

Today it is different. I’m 75 and that car I’m driving may be the last I ever buy. The home I’m in may be the last I’ll ever have. The trips of hoped for destinations will most likely not happen. Time limits all. So does health. And financial resources, too; but finances are the least of the concerns, really. Walking, standing for long periods, and climbing stairs are now all limited.

This is not a pity party, however! Far from it. Today, life is good. It is spent with family, friends and quiet times. Naps in the afternoon are especially sweet. An occasional morning siesta is more than super! And food, of course, continues to amaze and please.

Brain food is another facet of life. What we think about and the time we spend pondering important matters is a delight of major proportion.

I bumped into old friends the other evening and they admitted following my blog daily. In fact, he smiled broadly and told me to keep writing the blog. He starts his day reading it and loves it. He urged me to just keep doing it.

That was a pleasant surprise. Words matter to many people. Ideas – old and new – are always fresh for thinking about and figuring how they all fit together. That’s the brain food I meant.

Sunday afternoons are good for reading the newspaper, doing crossword puzzles, watching golf or a football game, and just lazing. Then 60 Minutes or the PBS News Hour pops up on TV and ideas flow. The brain comes alive and we are thinking about things that matter.

So I don’t plan a trip to France, or Cabo San Lucas. It doesn’t matter. Yes, I would love to plan a road trip from time to time and then just sit in diners and cafes in small towns. I’d like to talk with people there and write about how people think and feel about similar topics in different ways. That would be a fun adventure to me. Maybe traveling in a small camper with Rocky and the dog, too. And the computer of course, with a wi-fi connection to keep the blog going.

Somehow that seems like something worth doing. And it gets me thinking again of the road.

There’s something very special about following the hood ornament down the road. Wide open spaces still beckon, even if climbing aboard a plane, or hiking the sidewalks of Paris don’t. People have a stronger pull for me; that and the open road. Somehow, they just go together.

That’s all the future I’d like to anticipate. I wonder if it will happen? Now that's something I can do; wonder.

September 18, 2018