Anticipation is everywhere with us simple humans, it is the act of expecting or foreseeing something. We can't help it, it is part of our thinking mechanism. This weekend, for example, we are expecting rain. I talked to my mom yesterday and she said they were going to come up to visit, but we expecting a lot of rain, the equivalent of two months worth of rain over the weekend (I don't know what that means in Texas where we go three months without rain, sometimes). I am writing this Sunday afternoon, around 1:00pm, and so far it has showered on and off, but nothing to get excited about. It rarely gets ugly here where we live, we don't have low water crossings, so rain rarely affects me, other than making me wash my truck afterwards. It does get bad in San Antonio, and that is why my folks get squirrelly and hesitate anytime the weather is iffy as they have to drive through there.
Another type of anticipation that I or maybe we like to romanticize is waiting to go on vacation. We have now gone to Disney in Florida about seven times, so I know pretty much what will go down. I know my dad will lose his patience and hit the exit halfway through the day so he can go smoke. I know I won't be able to sleep enough the whole ten days we are up there, because I never do. I know I am really looking forward to going to downtown Disney where all the shopping is, but we won't spend quite enough time there to take it all in. They have live music all over the place, little snack things to try, but we always run through. I love the whole thing but I spend months thinking about it, and that week that we're there just flies by.
How about the anticipation of the end of the school year? I still get excited when May rolls around. Why? My fat ass works year round, I don't get summers off. I do love my boys home relaxing for awhile, and Wife being able to take a couple months off from her job, even if she stays busy with extra work. It is much more relaxed during the summer, no one rushing in the morning to get to school, everyone here at the house flips their schedule and becomes semi-nocturnal, so they go to sleep and wake up almost aligned with me, their choice, I don't force anyone to do anything. I know by August, Chubs will be dying of anticipation as he will be starting in a new school, so there will be the fear and excitement of getting to know a whole new world.
Christmas Eve is the best example of anticipation I can think of, though. Watching both boys work on their Christmas lists when they were younger, the thought of them getting something from Santa that they wouldn't expect. We are pretty much given a window, from the day after Thanksgiving, until Christmas Day to make some magic happen for our loved ones. I may not experience Santa personally, but I still feel warm and fuzzy making my loved ones happy.
I guess anticipation gives things energy, makes them more alive. By thinking about things like Christmas for a month, it becomes a bigger thing. I believe that is why Christmas is the premier holiday. No one loses sleep thinking about Arbor Day (maybe a tree hugger), but I can think back to when I was young and trying to figure out how I could catch Santa in the act. Since I like to be positive, I will say anticipation makes things better. Usually, the rain doesn't live up to the fear the weathermen give us, and that's good. Maybe a vacation should happen in a hurry, we wouldn't want to go thinking that moving permanently to Florida is a good idea, it is called that armpit of America for a reason.
No comments:
Post a Comment