| I don't know about you, but although I knew that 2019was coming to an end, I hadn'treally been thinking about itin terms of the end of a decade. That is, untilI started seeing all thenewspaper articles and television programs not only running their usualyear-end summaries, but also looking back on the entire decade. |
| Well, it definitely is not as biga deal as the turn of the century. I remember thateveryone was worried aboutY2K, and whether there would beserious computer problems related to going from 1999 to 2000. Plus, people wereworried there would be a champagneshortage. But, neither of those two "catastrophes" actually happened. |
| Seriously? People were actually worried about a champagneshortage? |
| Wine producers and retailers probably started the idea of somuch celebrating, and not enoughchampagne. Turns out there wereshortages of some of the high-end champagnes in certain places, and overallchampagne sales were up significantly. |
| I should've guessed that your memories would bebusiness-related. |
| In that instance, yes. But, you are theone who likes to travel down memory lane, notI. So, areyou reminiscingabout the past decade or just the past year? |
| Until all the media hype, Ihadn't really thought about it being a new decade. But when I did, it was bittersweetbecause the girls were 10 years younger. |
| So were you. So was I. |
| But it's different whenyou're thinking about how quickly your children grow up. Anyway, I understandthat you're not nostalgic, andyou definitely never play the "what if" game,but I find it hard to believe that youwon't reminisce, even a little, overthe past 10 years, or even the last year. |
| Our past has led us to where we are, and you can learn from it, but thatis different from reminiscing.You need to live in the present and know that it willinfluence the future. |
| But how do you learn from the past if you don't take the time – and I'm not saying a large amount of time – to thinkback about it? |
| You do that as you go, you do not think back over an entire year. Or, an entiredecade. Especially sincethose are arbitrary time periodsbased on calendars. |
| When you put it like that, it does seem a little crazy. Iguess it does make a lot more sense to just learn and make adjustmentsas you go vs. letting the"mistakes" pile up. |
| You cannot change thepast. But, what you do todaydoes impact the future. The key is finding theright balance between savoring themoment and planning for the future. |
| You'd think that as we get older, we'd learn to do things better, to approach things better, to just,well, at the risk of sounding like Melania Trump, be better.But for many of us, that'snot the case. |
| With age comesexperience, not wisdom. |
| Wow! You'reprobably going to roll your eyes at this, but I never really thought about it that way. Butit's so true. The concept of "learning from your mistakes" is something we hear a lot, especially when we're growing up.Unfortunately, I think that often stops when we become adults. |
| Learning should never stop – especially as we canlearn from both our "mistakes" and our goodexperiences. It just takes the desireto do so. |
| That sounds good, but for us "mere mortals" itcan be a little more difficult, as we tend to do things the way wealways have. We get caught up in ourday-to-day lives and before you knowit another week – another month – anotheryear – another decade has come and gone. |
| The older we get, the quicker the years seem to fly by, which makes iteven more critical to focus on what istruly important. Identifying yourvalues and priorities, and making sure your decisions align with them. |
| You make it sound so easy but, trust me, it's not. Plus, you've alwayslooked 20 years out and worked backward.For many of us that's a totally new way to look at life, especially those of us who like to reminisce. |
| At the risk of sounding like a Hallmark card, it is a new year, a time tolook forward, not backward. Put anotherway, there is a reason your frontwindshield is significantly larger than your rear-view mirror. |
| You and your car analogies. But I have toadmit it's a great visual. And I'll do my best to keep it inmind. But for now, I still can't believe it's 2020. |
| Funny thing is I started to wish you "20/20vision" in 2020,then realized it refers to "average"vision … and why would I wish anyone an average year? |
| For those of us who need glasses, 20/20 is what we strive for, and allowsus to see things much clearer. |
| In that case, I wish you 20/20 in2020. |
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| I know everyone’s always trying to find balance in their life. I thought becoming an empty nester would make that easier, but apparently not. The girls may be grown, but being a mom doesn’t end when your children move out. Between them, Red & Black, and my seemingly endless lists of things to do, I still struggle. |
| And, as I am a die-hard workaholic who admits to not having a life, you think I have the answer? |
| Excellent point. Never mind. |
| However, I do have some suggestions … although I will preface it with, "Do as I say, not as I do." |
| At this point, I'll take whatever help I can get. |
| Sometimes you need to make a conscious effort to stay present. And, by that I mean appreciate what is happening now instead of thinking about what is next. Or, reminiscing about the past. |
| That sounds good, but it also sounds overly simplistic, not to mention highly optimistic. And where would I even start? |
| Easy. It really is as simple as 1 – 2 – 3. |
| Nothing's that simple. |
| 1. SLOW down and look around 2. STOP using your gizmo and consider putting it away 3. GO spend time with family or friends, or steal some "alone time" |
| Actually, that does sound simple. Now I just have to remember to SLOW – STOP –GO. |
| Just imagine a traffic light. Plus, it would have the added benefit of every time you see a real traffic light, it will remind you to SLOW –STOP – GO. |
| I should've known there'd be a car or driving analogy in there somewhere. |
| Throttle on ... |