ANTICIPATION . . .

. . . it's makin' me late,
      and keepin' me waitin'

Carly Simon wrote the song and sang, played, and recorded it in the '70s.

We're always anticipating something. I know, I know, I'm sticking my neck out here and that's a dangerous position to be in, but I do think I can say "we," meaning the vast majority of us, are always anticipating. 

Right now, for those of us who live in the cold, cold northlands, it's Spring we anticipate. I should've counted the number of people who said, "I'm SO over this winter." But it was a goodly number, and even if you didn't say it, you may have thought it. 

So, we anticipate a change in seasons. The warmth and increased sunshine will be most welcome. Then the bushes and trees start to get into the act and we have pollen. Pollen I don't love so much. In fact, not at all. I walk around with a box of tissues under my arm (the big box) and my inhaler is ever by my side.

That's when I anticipate a change in the spring season--get to the later part, I want to say. Let's have some flowers and real leaves and less pollen. How about a little rain to wash the air clean? Then we get rain, sometimes day after day after day of rain, making big puddles at the bottom of my driveway and filling all the shallow spots on the roads.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. Anticipating Spring--yes!

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If it isn't a new/different season, then it could be a new baby, or a wedding, or a new friendship. People are important to us, whether near or far away; they may be what brings a smile to our lips when the incessant rain gets us down. (Sorry, I didn't mean to mention that again.) We anticipate hearing their voices, reading their letters and cards, celebrating their birthdays and other special events (even if we can't attend in person). 

Maybe it's a trip--vacation, cruise, going a place we've never been before. 

I suspect your calendar--like mine--is dotted with names of those celebrating something big--birthday, wedding, graduation, due date for the latest baby. Every time I look at those little boxes of info, I think of that person and that event. Often I think back to a birth--two of my children have birthdays in March, so there's a bunch of thinking-back going on here.
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My church celebrates the season of Lent--a time of reflection on the life of Christ and on our own lives. Lent is a penitential season, when we dedicate ourselves to prayer and make an effort to forgive and ask to be forgiven. It may also include fasting and self-denial, depending on the church. (This is a permanent part of our tradition, but underscored during Lent.) And throughout the season of Lent, we anticipate the joy of Easter at the end of this time.

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There's always something coming along. When I go to bed at night, I anticipate getting up in the morning to a pot of coffee, a gluten-free cookie, and an hour spent writing in my journal. This is a time of communing with myself--reflecting on days past, planning the day I'm in, and looking at what's possibly on the calendar for the next few days.

Anticipation is almost but not quite the direct opposite of living in the moment. So long as I don't always live in the future, instead of steeping myself in this moment's gift, I'm fine. The future, like the past, isn't available. 

If we keep perspective about what's to come--or what we hope is to come--we free ourselves up for enjoyment of this moment in time. 

Carly Simon ends her song this way:

     "These are the good old days...."

Why not?