Everybody's Gotta Be Somewhere

As of right now:
-I am in Bloomington, Indiana, United States of America, Earth, Milky Way galaxy...
-I am in my home, in the living room, lounging on the couch...
-I am with my wife, Elizabeth and step-daughter, Katie...
-It is about 11:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time...
Everybody's gotta be somewhere, and this is where I am. As of now.

Where are you?
Take all the time you need to answer...I'll be here when you get back.

Taking stock of where one is from time to time is probably wise. Am I on track to be where I want to be five years from now? Am I where I want to be education-wise, profession/job/employment-wise, health-wise?
Do I need to make some course-corrections? Is my next move forward, backward, upward, onward, or would I do well to hunker down for a spell?
Back in 2009, Samir Bharadwa suggested posing the following questions to help get a fix on where one is at any given time:
-Where was I back then?
-Where did I want to go?
-Am I getting there?
-Do I still want to go there?
-What stopped me from getting there?
-Did I overreach?
-Did I under perform?
-Did I just not know clearly where I was going?
-What held me back? What distracted me?
-What pushed me in the right direction?
-How does where I wanted to go back then gel with what I now know, to change my path forward?

Well, everybody's gotta be somewhere. I'm good with where I am right now.
And you?

The End of the Line

Who knows when any of us will reach the end of the line? No one, that's who? The big "end of the line," I mean. You know: That's all there is, there ain't no more...Its all over, but the shoutin'...No more tomorrows.
I am 66...fast headed toward 67, and I don't expect to reach the end of the line anytime soon. But I don't know that for sure. Nobody knows that for sure, about me or about anyone else.

So, since I have an unknown amount of time left, it would seem wise that I use that time in ways that move me forward, not backward; that move me in constructive ways, not destructive ways; that lead upward and not downward.
I've run into some dead-ends in my time, haven't you? Sure you have! But dead-ends aren't the end of the line...dead ends are simply invitations to try new directions.
I've failed in my time. Many, many times. Everyone has. But failures aren't the end of the line...failures are simply (even if they really hurt at the time) evidence that you have made attempts and learned from them.
I've lost my way once or twice in my time. I am tempted to think I am not alone in this. But being lost is not the end of the line...being lost may mean setting a new destination, it may mean asking some one or some power to light the path for you, or it may mean retracing your steps until you come to a previous location that is familiar and trustworthy.
And so, since I have not yet reached the end of the line, I want to point out the wisdom of the "word art" picture that is a part of the blog-post: There is always (so long as I am on this side of whatever comes after this life) a way forward. Always. A. Way. Forward. Of course, I will have to seek out that Way and then determine to follow it, as best I can.
And, sometimes I may have to blaze that way forward by myself. Being afraid of going it alone, will not work. Setting off on the way forward can be a solo effort.
But, hey, its not the end of the line! So, there is that.

TRADITION

There aren't a whole lot of traditions in my family. Used to be that Christmas presents only got opened on Christmas morning...but some of the family now opens one (or maybe more) on Christmas Eve. Used to be that my sons and I played Sunday afternoon basketball games in the driveway...those days are long gone. There are some food traditions: Pasquales Pizza will draw anybody within driving range to whatever family unit has purchased it. Hungarian goulash gets everybody around the table...the occasion becomes a special one just because that dish is being served. In recent years, most family get-togethers include games of euchre. Since the sons are grown and have their own families and homes we no longer fight over which Christmas tree ornament gets hung in the more prominent place on the tree: Notre Dame or Purdue. Tradition does dictate that when we do all gather to open presents for whatever celebration, the youngest goes first and the oldest goes last.

And then there is the above twist on the word "tradition" that gives it a negative slant.
Its true, of course, we do sometimes keep doing it the way we have always done it just to keep our comfort-level in check, and ward-off any change. That's too bad, I think.
Don't get me wrong, I do like things to run smoothly and predictably. And, truth is, the older I get the more I am not as excited about change as I once was. I don't think I am at the old-and-crotchety stage yet, but I can probably see it from here.
In writing this blog-post I want to remind myself that always doing it the way I have always done it insures that real life will pass me by...surely and quickly.
So, let's celebrate traditions that keep us grounded in where we have come from and allow us to recall heritage and home, but let's not refuse to greet each new day as one in which new possibilities abound! And maybe new traditions begin.