This Is Me--2024 A to Z Theme

My A to Z Themes in the past have covered a range of topics and for 2024 the theme is a personal retrospective that I call "I Coulda Been" which is in reference to my job and career arc over my lifetime. I'll be looking at all sorts of occupations that I have done or could have done. Maybe you've done some of these too!

Friday, October 27, 2017

It's Just a Matter of Time--and I don't mean the song


            Few of us enjoy waiting for things, but the real irony is that we spend our whole lives waiting even though it might not seem at times that we are waiting at all...


English: Toufoula Dream room , waiting room
Toufoula Dream room , waiting room
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

   
             To be cynical one might say that we are born in order to spend a lifetime waiting to die.  But that is also a realistic point of view.   We all die eventually.   Most of us would likely prefer to stay in life's waiting room for as long as we can.

             A lot of kids might be asking their parents something like, "When is Halloween going to get here?"   When you're a kid a few days can seem like an interminably long time to wait.   A week might as well be an eternity.  A parent's vision of hell might be spending forever with kids wheedling to know when such and such is going to happen. Fortunately I don't recall having that experience with my kids nor in my own childhood.

            I've mostly been patient in my life.  At least on the outside.  There have certainly been those times when my insides were in turmoil from the waiting.  No one could ever tell unless I made a point of letting them know that I was experiencing a problem, but this has been rare in context of my sixty plus years of living. 

           There are times when anticipation for something to come is about the same as being on the edge of a cliff with someone bigger behind me waiting to push me off.  We wait.  I wait for a fall while that bigger entity waits to shove me off into the depths.  No thanks bud because in my life whenever I have been pushed something lifts me back up to start me off anew.  I just have to wait for it all to happen.  It will be okay.

         In my previous post I suggested that knowing where I am is often my most important question to have answered.  However knowing where I am in the span of time might be equally vital information to have and in some cases the main point of interest.

         Knowing when is crucial when making a date or an appointment otherwise people would have a tough time making connections and lord knows that making connections can be difficult as it is.  The "when" is what holidays and milestones are all about.  Without the when there is no history, there is no time. 

        When pigs fly, when all is said and done, or when we reach the end or our rope are all things that might pop up to surprise us or we might see them coming.  "Just you wait and see," comes the empty threat.  "See what?"  I ask.  "You'll know when it happens," from a voice filled with emotion and some tinge of helplessness.

         I wait...

         I wait for the Battle of the Bands which will be coming on Wednesday November 1st right here on Tossing It Out.  And on that same post I will neatly tie in my contribution to the November Insecure Writer's Support Group when the question posed is:  

Win or not, do you usually finish your NaNo project? Have any of them gone on to be published?

        Hope you'll be here for that as well as for my Monday special Halloween post--a true story that was part of my life.  It's something that gives me a chill each time I ponder it.  But you'll have to wait for that...

         Today's post and my previous post both hold clues as to my next BOTB song, an old classic from a Broadway show--any ideas?    How old were you when you began to grasp a workable knowledge of times and dates?   If you were a random time traveler which would be most important for you to know initially--the time or the place?






16 comments:

  1. I suppose we are all waiting for something or another Lee that we miss the present day.
    Excellent post, look forward to BOTB next week.
    Have a good weekend.
    Yvonne.

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    1. Yvonne, I find myself waiting for many things every day. Most happen while some I continue to wait for.

      Lee

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  2. No idea on the song.
    I'm a rather patient person. Even when something big is coming, I don't get too excited.

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    1. Alex, if I do happened to be excited about something to come I usually don't show it too much unless it's talking to others involved about what is coming.

      Lee

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  3. My you have been contemplative.

    Lately I've been stewing about what makes a life meaningful. One of my sisters had a stroke and she continues to get better. But at one time, I thought all she would do was sleep and eat for the rest of her God given life.

    I'll be back for your nano post. This year I am participating in that I am working on the goal just not joining the pack online.

    Take care, Ann

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    1. Ann, watching misfortunes in the lives of others or dealing with hassles in our own life can make us think about a lot of things. Sometimes I probably think too much.

      Lee

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  4. How about Somewhere from West Side Story?

    If I were a random time traveler, I'd want to know where I am, even before knowing the time period. That's probably why I choose setting for a new novel first.

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    1. Patricia, good guess, but think of an even older show. I always like to know where I am. The time will fall into place as that information is needed.

      Lee

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  5. Good Sir Arlee... "Halloween III" is about an evil "Toy-Maker" who mass produces "Cursed" Masks... think that you mat enjoy this one...
    Have a pleasant weekend.

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    1. Stacey, that does sound like an interesting story idea.

      Lee

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  6. Some waits take for ever others are over in a blink, I am lucky that generally speaking my girls did not complain about waiting for things. That said there were times like when we all went to Dubbo Zoo, Kathy-Lee kept asking when will this be over because she was in a right foul mood and my dad went off his nut at her, telling her this was a family trip and not all about her and a lot more was said.

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    1. Jo-Anne, I find it's best to be patient and not annoy others with my complaining. Sometimes there are waits within waits.

      Lee

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  7. I know that the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas always seemed so long when I was a kid, and it's really only about 3 weeks or so.

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    1. JoJo, I hear what you're saying--it was the same for me. Even thinking back it seems that time was slower when I was a kid.

      Lee

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  8. Lee,

    Your posts always intrigue me. I do remember when time seemed frozen. That wait, wait, wait for the holidays for Christmas after Halloween felt indefinite. Why, I didn't even look to Thanksgiving as a holiday. That just didn't compete with the magic of Christmas. I'm not sure when I began to make the connection between time and dates, I reckon I was in 4th grade but my understanding was limited. Nowadays time zips by way too quickly and I wish I could slow it down a little like when I was a kid. I guess we're never happy when thinking about the relationship of time and dates, are we? Oh well... it won't be long now before I can see what you have in store for us in your Nov. 1st BoTB. :)

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    1. Cathy, for me Thanksgiving was always a great day since it was a two day school holiday and I loved that dinner. If I still didn't have some Halloween candy left it would have meant a bad take for that year, but I always managed to have some candy for that long Thanksgiving weekend. Like I really needed that candy then.

      Lee

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Lee