Friday, November 27, 2020

November Challenge Post #27: What I Look Forward To

It's important to Live In The Now and be grateful, but it's also important to have something to look forward to. My grandfather lived to be more than ninety years old. He was a busy man, a putterer by nature, and he never met a ladder that he wouldn't climb and get up into something where he definitely should not have been. He was well into his seventies--maybe even eighties--when he leaned an old ladder against a pear tree to pick the fruit. The next thing we heard was that he was in the hospital. He had not only fallen off the ladder, but into a picket fence (where he became impaled) because had been reaching for "the good ones." 

My grandpa was busy every day of his life. He once told me that the secret to living a long time was to always have something to look forward to. He had a job to do, a chore from Grandma, or an event at church or the Senior Center or Retired Men's Club which required his presence every day. Whenever he did sit down, he usually caught a quick nap, and that irritated my grandmother, who thought it made him look like an old man. 

Which, of course, he was, but she didn't care about that, and that made it even funnier to all of us.

But my point in all this--and I do have one--is that I never forgot what he told me:  that the reason he was living so long was because he always had something to look forward to.

So, in the spirit of my grandpa, in these difficult times, here is a list of

What I Look Forward To (When The Pandemic Is Over)

1. No more masks

2. Hugging and kissing whomever I want

3. Going back to Canada

4. No more shortages

5. No more being afraid of people in general


What I Look Forward To In General

1. Rick's retirement

2. Weekends at the lake

3. Time with the kids and grandkids

4. Redoing the bathroom floor

5. Wine tastings

6. Repainting the bathrooms at the lakehouse


What are you looking forward to?



image

25 comments:

  1. 1) I am looking forward to a new administration in Washington.
    2) I am looking forward to being able to visit all of my grandchildren again.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ellen D--Oh, me too! How could I forget to mention our new President and Vice President?!
      So many of us are looking forward to being with our loved ones completely again.

      Delete
  2. I am looking forward to ...
    ... a sane government that doesn't rule by tweet.
    ... seeing my family again.
    ... teaching face-to-face again.
    ... retirement.
    ... and, in the near future, getting my neck brace off, lol.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ortizzle--Yes, let's get that neck healed and healthy and strong ASAP! And I'm astonished that I didn't mention the outgoing and incoming presidential administrations.

      I'm sure you're going to be relieved to finally get back to normalcy in your job. Teaching remotely isn't what we think of as Teaching. I know you long for the student in the classroom experience again.

      We're all hanging in there...no matter how long it takes.

      Delete
  3. Your grandpa was a very smart man. I look forward to having Biden and Harris in office, along with never having to see or hear Trump again. I look forward to having hugs from my kids again, lunches out with friends, and of course having grandchildren.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Martha--He was practical and had a lot of common sense, for sure. I echo your sentiments about 45*, and I hope the media stops chasing him and reporting his horrifying antics. I do hope he is allowed to go away and shut up. And I'm looking forward to President Biden and Vice President Harris so much!

      Being able to safely dine out, see friends, and interact with people normally--YES. And you'll make a great grandmother.

      Delete
  4. 1. January 22
    2. Being able to drive up to the mountains
    3. Going down to D.C. to visit family
    4. Having coffee IN a coffee shop
    5. Being able to SEE peoples' faces

    Probably a whole lot more, but that is a good start.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dee--I love all of these. I'm keeping a countdown on our family whiteboard for #1. So satisfying to change that number every day!

      Delete
  5. Seeing my legion of doctors face-to-face (not Zoom), having my teeth cleaned at the dentist, having a pedi-mani and a good haircut (not home job I'm doing myself), browsing the sales and eating out. Most of all I plan to attend live music concerts and frequent all the seasonal festivals.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Eileen--We still get takeout from our favourite restaurant as a splurge now and then, but it's a sad compromise. We can't wait to go and dine in again! Your list sounds like a self-care celebration.

      Delete
  6. Going somewhere that provides meals, makes the beds and has access to water and a view. Soon, please. I am tired of being a housewife.
    Fascinating how our wants, and to some extent our needs, have changed since last winter.
    And, oh yes, the end of Tweetie Bird.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mary--It really is fascinating how we have all become so much more appreciative of little things. We were not selfish boors before, but we've developed a real sense of wistfulness for the things we had so easily and loved so much.

      Oh, there won't be an end to him, not as long as he is goosing the news, but we won't have to worry about him making policy and embarrassing anyone but himself. HEAVEN!

      Delete
    2. And took so much for granted. I was told not long ago that I was born with a silver spoon, as the saying goes. And that is true. But I guess I needed to be told.

      Delete
  7. "The grand essentials of happiness are something to do, something to love and something to hope for."- a k chalmers. My short list:
    1) hosting Home Routes concerts and live music
    2) a trip to Vancouver Island with friends (think spa treatments, good meals, hikes, games)
    3) overnight stays at my cousin's
    4)a visit from my friends from England (sadly postponed in this pandemic)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mona--Thanks for sharing that quote; it's perfect.

      I've been to Vancouver Island; it's lovely. All the things on your list sound like they're well worth the wait. I hope we don't have much more waiting, though.

      Delete
  8. I too am looking forward to the Biden/Harris administration! And just plain kindness; no nasty, self-centered tweets, etc. I am also looking forward to spending some time in Stone Harbor, NJ; am going to be positive thinking and put a deposit on a place in February. Our rental will be for some time in June or July; I am hoping to the gods that everything is somewhat back to normal by then, and that my mom and kids and I can all gather together, safely.

    My kids and I walked through Edgewater Park yesterday. It was lovely; we all wore masks, as did almost everyone else walking about (shockingly). I think the thing I miss most of all is hugging my kids.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Elle--So nice to see you back in Comments!

      Oh, what a nice, hopeful thing to do. Fingers crossed for your family summer vacation.

      Edgewater Park is still getting plenty of visitors when it's not rainy or nasty out. It's always calming to look out at the lake and feel the centering effect of Nature.

      I miss hugging friends hello and goodbye. I'm naturally a hugger.

      Delete
  9. Great prompt Nancy:
    A good nap today while someone is watching the Northwestern game
    snowfall in small pretty amounts
    doing my nails
    catching u p on ....everything

    My big goals:
    Pass DNR test for Wolf Tracking
    Finish Shawl
    Think about easy shop

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. kathy b--All nice goals. I wish I were able to nap. Too much football (and sports in general) on tv to suit me. It's as if they think EVERYONE cares about that stuff.

      WELL, NOT ME!

      Delete
  10. I agree with this philosophy. I can't wait for the days when I can get on with my life and do the things that I want to do. So I look forward to a Covid-free world one day.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I’m looking forward to the chicken stew Ted is making for dinner tonight. I’m looking forward to seeing my family again someday. I’m looking forward to 1/20/21.

    My great aunt is 96 1/2 (she stresses the 1/2), and hopes to live to be 100. At the same time, she says she looks forward to dying, so she can go to heaven and be reunited with her loved ones, most especially her husband, who died in 1961, and her sister, who died in 2016. But also her parents and her step-daughters. I think she is looking forward to the fudge I will send her, though she dosen’t know about it yet, so perhaps not...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. J--How I wish Ted were making my dinner as well. We are still largely undecided here as to what dinner will be, and we'd better hurry up since it's already 3:38 PM and we like to eat around 6.

      (Rick murmured something about "soup and sandwiches" but we nothing for sandwiches except turkey, and I'm turkeyed out at present.)

      Once in a while, I think about whether or not I want to live to be even as old as my mother is now, at 90. What if everything is a Herculean effort all the time? What if I'm not myself or a burden? Then I stop thinking about it because...depressing, you know?

      You're very thoughtful to send her some fudge, which I know she'll enjoy. The taste for sweet things is the last to go, and my mother is a testament to that. She especially loves chocolate and ice cream, and I think she'd eat just those things at every meal if she were left to her own devices. And the occasional pickle.

      Delete
  12. Your Grandpa sounds a lot like my Paternal Grandfather; goodness, I miss him so much.
    I look forward to hugging everyone!! That has been very hard for me.
    Like you, I love looking forward and goodness, there is always much to look forward to in life.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. BB Suz--I agree--there is a great deal to look forward to in general. It's important to have Hope.

      The hugging is instinctual with me. I find myself feeling so awkward without that ability now. It has been a real loss, as you understand.

      Delete

Oh, thank you for joining the fray!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...