Today, one of my favorite pictures of a dear friend delivered a little life-changing jolt. It was taken on a walk the day after Christmas, almost 9 years ago. I’ll explain in a second.
But first, “450 w” represents when this was taken. It’s hard to believe how much my life has changed since then…
I live in Oregon now, instead of Austin.
I’m the grandmother of a five-year old.
I’m happily remarried.
I still have two dogs, but they’re chiweenie lap dogs, not the noble, majestic german shepherd and insane husky of yore.
When you look back at yourself nine years ago, what’s different? What’s the same?
Most of us will answer that question with a mixture of relief, pride, bewilderment and regret.
Life throws us for a loop (moving across the country). Turns out better than we ever could have hoped (having a granddaughter, remarrying). And sometimes, goes way off the rails (health issues, anyone?).
In looking back over that expanse of time, what do you notice about your wishes and dreams? Especially the ones that seemed silly or impractical? Did you ever act on them? Put them off? Give up altogether?
450 weeks sounds like an eternity. It involves hundreds of something.
Just look at how quickly one week slides into the next. How the weeks pile on top of each other. The seasons change. Again! The same holidays loom.
Which has made me realize…
It’s time to just go ahead and do the thing I’ve been longing to do for years, which is write about a bunch of subjects that don’t go together.
So I will. Here!
What about you? What’s been nagging at you in the background of your life for the last decade? If another 10 years pass by, how will you feel?
Is there really any good reason for holding back? Isn’t now going to be a bad time, no matter what?
And if you fail… SO WHAT? You’ll pick yourself up and shake off. You’ll figure it out.
You already have, countless times over the last ten years, right?
So join me for a jump into the Let’s-See-What-Happens pond. This article on Swedish Death Cleaning (I didn’t write it) gives you a hint of what’s to come. More soon!