Save Some Energy for the Event

Anticipation

“Never forget that anticipation is an important part of life. Work's important, family's important, but without excitement you have nothing. You're cheating yourself if you refuse to enjoy what's coming.”

Nicholas Sparks (Three Weeks With My Brother)

Most people enjoy the run-up to an event more than the event itself. Anticipation is half the joy—if we're anticipating something that we badly want, our imagination works overtime in an effort to guess what will happen, what will it be like, what might be the result, etc. We enjoy planning an event more than the actual event because that's the engaging part; our creative juices are flowing and carrying us along on its wake. By the time the event happens, we're sometimes exhausted, and want nothing more than to crawl into bed and sleep for about two days.

I remember the week before my niece's wedding. I excitedly drove to North Carolina (seven hours), to my mother's house, which had just had all the hardwood floors refinished, and all the walls painted. I was anticipating that nice, clean house, fresh paint, beautiful wedding. What I found was breath-taking. Every piece of furniture, including everything that had been hanging on walls and windows, was piled into the kitchen and two bathrooms. I had five days to set it all up before the wedding party arrived from Tennessee to stay in the house for the weekend—and I had my elderly, oxygen-tank-toting mother to deal with. By the end of the week, even though we were super-excited about the wedding, I was barely on my feet. The house was ready, my mother was ready, my niece was ready—I was a zombie. I spent the day of the wedding taking Mother (in her wheelchair) for hair and nails appointments—in the rain—and then helping her to dress and put on make-up for the big event. As I was applying her lipstick, she looked closely at me for the first time that day, and said, “You look awful, Jane. What are you going to do about your hair?” To say it was the final straw would not be doing it justice. Needless to say, I don't remember too much about the wedding.

Anticipation is a fine thing. Adrenalin drenched and exciting. I'm guessing that right about now people here in the USA are in the full throes of it with Thanksgiving coming next week, ushering in the long month of holiday gatherings, shop-shop-shopping, gift giving, cooking and food consumption. By all means, enjoy the anticipation and planning, but save some energy for the event itself. Family and friends, around the table—what could be better than that!

                                                                In the Spirit,

                                                                    Jane