I think almost everyone spends far too much time waiting. We wait in line, we sit in special waiting rooms before our medical appointments, we endure easy-listening music on our phones while waiting our turn to speak to a live customer service rep, we wait for test results, and this year, we’re all waiting for the end of a global pandemic that has really outworn its welcome. Most of that waiting is beyond our control and so we accept it and learn to adapt. We tell ourselves that what we’re waiting for will eventually arrive, and until then, we bide our time as best we can. I’ve managed to read entire magazines while waiting in the checkout line at the grocery store, which not only keeps my mind occupied but saves me the cost of having to actually buy the magazine.
But the problem with waiting is that it can become a habit, and not in a good way. It’s easy to slip into the habit of thinking that somehow our lives will be good and whole just as soon as whatever issue we happen to be dealing with is finally resolved, or whatever we’re waiting for finally arrives. We can become so focused on waiting for what we believe will be a better future that we tend to overlook the present. Or at least that’s what I find myself doing a lot these days.
If I can just make it through these next few months, then the worst of the pandemic will be over and I’ll be able to enjoy myself again. Once my husband gets past this next medical procedure, then I can relax and focus on the things I love to do. Once we get that new dormer put in our upstairs bedroom, then my house will finally look and function exactly the way I want it to. I could go on and on, but you get the picture. It’s as if I believe that I’m existing in some sort of limbo, just waiting for something to happen so that I can finally begin to live my life the way I want to.
Sometimes I need reminding that when whatever I happen to be waiting for finally arrives, I’m surely going to start waiting for something else. Which means that the best way to deal with it all is to simply live the best life I can, right here and right now. It’s amazing how much can be accomplished, and how much joy can be found, when we simply allow ourselves to live in the present, even with all its imperfections and uncertainties.
Hoping and planning for a better future is a good thing. But when we focus too much on waiting for that future to actually arrive, I believe we’re also cheating ourselves out of the good that can be found in the present. One of my favorite sayings has always been, “Life is for living.” I’m beginning to think that it’s time for me to edit that a little, and change it to “Life is for living now!” Because that’s the God’s honest truth……
Mom’s outside doing some yard work, so I’m taking the opportunity to write another blog post for her. I’ve written a few already, and they’ve been very well received, if I do say so myself. Still, it’s been a long time since she’s invited me to write a guest post. I’d like to think that’s just because Mom is a bit forgetful, and not because she’s getting a little jealous that maybe my blog posts are a tiny bit better than hers. But for whatever the reason, I got tired of waiting for an invitation and since Mom’s not exactly a fast worker, so I’ve got plenty of time to do it now.
Which brings me to the point of this post. As much as I like living with my human family, (and I really do love them), I can’t help but notice that there’s a certain unfairness in the way the different members of the family are treated. Just because I happen to have fur and walk around on four legs, I often have to abide by a totally different set of rules. Take the aforementioned toys, for instance. I’m perfectly willing to share my toys with babies and children, and believe me, when the adults aren’t looking, they play with my toys. But if I dare to pick up one of their toys, I’m immediately told to “drop it,” as if I’ve done something horrible. And they insist on washing the toys before they return them to the child or baby in question, which is just plain insulting.
I don’t know about you, but there’s a whole lot going on in my life right now that I never saw coming. Some of it is good and some of it is bad, but most of it was totally unexpected. I still remember how I used to look at our calendar early last year and worry about how we were possibly going to keep up with such a busy schedule of travel and events. Who knew the answer would be a virus that would force us to cancel them all? And I remember the cold stab of fear I felt when I heard that my daughter-in-law was being prepped for an emergency delivery six weeks before her due date. I had no way of knowing that the result would be a beautiful and perfectly healthy granddaughter who spent only two weeks in the hospital.
But I think the changes go deeper than that. Living through such a traumatic year (my family also faced some difficulties that had nothing to do with Covid) has taught me a lot about myself, and I think growing in self-awareness is always a good thing. I learned that I had the ability to be patient, even when I yearned for quick answers and even quicker action. And while I’ve never been what could be called the “outdoorsy type,” I learned that the more time I spend outside, the calmer and happier I become. Nature truly is a great healer, for both the body and the soul. I also figured out that one way to cope with uncertain times is to get busy working on the things I do have control over, even something as mundane as painting the guest bedroom.
Muddling Through My Middle Age 