Old, new and and on your way

Christmas almost here and a new year just around the corner. A time for reflection and looking forward? Yeah sure.
When we keep in mind that we can’t change the past and can’t predict the future why do we even examine that which has come before and that which lies ahead.
Well… that’s what people do this time of year so here’s my take on the old going out and the new coming in.

Personally big changes took place at my end. Retirement from full-time to part-time at my nine to five and no more column deadline. (Committed to finishing a book.) Life could not be better. Family is everything and wonderful.

Having said that, let me add this for my writer friends who have never been published and dream to be. As we all know, dreams don’t get us where we want to go, hard work and determination do. Here’s a few suggestions

Do write with eyes open and mind attuned.
Don’t get caught up in trends, make your own.

Do let learning be you’re your pathway.
Stay true to your core.

Do follow the bedrock rules. Writer’s arrogance is poison.
Don’t follow all the rules. Break them wisely.

Believe.
Do.

And, like a toddler, look forward with wonder, get back up after you stumble and take naps. Naps are a writer’s classroom.

Helloooo ho ho happy holidays

Oh my. So long since I posted a comment.
I'm still here, still writing and figuring out my next move.
Because I have retired from full-time to part-time at my 9 to 5 and because I have retired my column (it rests but still has a heartbeat), I am immersing myself in family.
For well over forty years I have not been able to devote myself to family and the season because of my job. This year is the first year they have come first. It is beyond wonderful that a time clock does not rule the holiday.

Next year...who knows what it will bring. Last years horoscope said that THIS year would be one of big changes. It sure was, continues to be and is wonderful.
Still querying.
Finalizing a new/old project and deciding on next moves.
Until then, ho ho, happy New Year and may your holidays be ones filled with what really matters to you.

The sign of my times

Recently I was driving around with my 3 month old grandson. He was snoozing in his car seat. We do that sometimes on my one day with him. He needs a nap, I need quiet time and a chocolate shake from the drive-up window at McDs.

The car needed gas so I stopped at a station one town over. I got out, inserted my card in the slot, started to pump and looked around. It was a nice afternoon, flowers were still blooming at the farm stand across the street where a few cars pulled in, a couple of cars pulled out. There was a young guy pumping gas next to me. Nothing out of the ordinary at all. And then I saw something which, within a few seconds, shook me to my core, (in a good way).

           

But first, let me back up a bit.
After celebrating my recent birthday, and for some time leading up to it, I’ve been having a hard time dealing with aging. I don’t like the idea of getting old, and what that means: uncertainty, fear of suffering and dependence. A few years back after experiencing my parents’ switchover from driving cars to waterproof sheets, and eventual death, I saw my future. I didn’t like what I saw.

The primary ‘not-like’ of what lies ahead: will I live long enough for my grandchildren to remember me? I’m on the old-side of grand-parenting and they are all so young. (Oldest is three) I want them to know how much they mean to me. I want them to remember how much fun I am/was. By the time they start storing memories of me I will be really old and maybe not as limber as I am now. And the stupid part…right now I’m healthy and life is pretty damn good. But I dwell easily on the dark side of the unknown. Not good.

Anyway, I’m standing next to my car, my grandson is napping and while I’m pumping I look up at a sign, high on a pole next to the road, just below the big Exxon sign. Nothing fancy about it, typical marketing statement by a big company. Black background with simple white lettering.

“BECAUSE THE BEST MILES ARE STILL AHEAD FOR YOU.”

It was as if a cool breeze rose from the field of flowers across the street to lighten my heavy heart.

It was an epiphany.

I read the sign out loud.

The guy at the pump next to me gave me one of those looks.

Right then, at that moment, on the spot, the difficulties and angst of the past, I realized are simply that, past. Finding jobs, finding love, a home, having children, raising them, helping them on their way, done. Though relationships with kids are certainly ongoing, like I said, they are done.

What’s right-now and the future looks pretty good. Don’t worry so much, don’t fret, don’t dwell…

“BECAUSE THE BEST MILES ARE STILL AHEAD FOR YOU.”