Thursday, February 12, 2009

To Look Forward~


Inspired by Gaye's post, I was reminded of my father who had always maintained that life was never worth living unless you had something to look forward to.

And I said to myself after I read Gaye's post, I am one lucky woman. I have so much to look forward to this year!

Now I should make clear that I am very much an advocate of living in the moment, and I do. I am terrifically present in each and every moment of my life and savour each day, good, bad or indifferent as the treasure it is. To be healthy is a bonus. To hang out with my daughter and granddaughter as we did tonight was such fun, chewing over some stories, some books, some films, some websites and the dire condition of our little planet. And eating lobster bisque. My father taught me: one never drinks soup, one eats it. One never cuts a bread roll, one breaks it. I could make a book of such admonitions. But I'll spare you.

To look forward~

Me: I have my Annual Ladies' Brunch this Sunday. It starts at 11 and finishes oh, maybe at the other 11. We sit around the table and nibble away at all the goodies and entertain each other. And it's like that old saying: the Irish never have a conversation, they just sit around and monologue at each other. And what's wrong with that, pray tell? Not that everyone's Irish. I count my daughter as Irish as she was conceived in Dublin. My 92 year old friend was born in Donegal but emigrated to Canada when she was 4. But she still counts her numbers in Irish. And some of the rest are Irish born but most are from England or Scotland or Canadian. One was born in the U.S. in New York as her parents transitioned from London, England to London, Canada.

To look forward~

And then in early May I head back to Newfoundland, I love that road trip, with all the snow gone and the days longer and the trees bursting into green song, and the first sight of the ocean in New Brunswick springing up blue on the horizon as the dog raises her nose to the window and takes a huge lungful of the ozone. Me too.

To look forward~

And then in June, and this is the big one, I'm going to Dublin to spend some time with a very sick friend and after that, after that, I'm going to Paris.

Paris. It's been over 40 years since I left her. Has she changed? Did she move anything on me? Do the dogs still poop on the footpaths? Is her wine still cheaper than her Coca-Cola? I'm going to miss her Gauloises that I used to smoke so languidly in her cafes avec mon cafe au lait. (If I'd continued l'affaire with Mr. Gauloise I wouldn't be going back, now would I?) And her Seine, still filthy? And her Versailles, still breathtaking?

Oh, I do go on. I'll stop now.

22 comments:

  1. Your post made me smile, lifted my heart and encouraged me to celebrate the moment more. Thank you WWW.

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  2. Hi WWW

    Re Paris - yes to all your questions and so much more. I wasn't there 40 years ago but my first time was in 1982 and my last 2007. If it's changed, it's only for the better. Wine prices, unfortunately, have been hiked by the Euro transition as they have everywhere else but you hardly notice that. I hope you're going on Eurostar from Kings Cross.

    xxx

    Pants

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  3. How fantastic! It is lovely to have so many things to look forward to :-)

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  4. Absolutely, live life in the moment and savour every pleasure to the utmost. But looking forward is essential as well, it gives life a purpose. I haven't been to Paris for over 40 years either, my parents took me there as a kid. But they say it still has a great atmosphere and of course fantastic food and drink.

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  5. Yes, WWW, I very much live in the here and now also and hardly make any plans for the day after tomorrow. I am so happy about this, as I used to live in the past and have it repeat in my head over and over again and then I would escape into a fantasized future that somehow I had to make come true.

    So, here is to living in the moment. I hope we may continue to do it well for a long time yet.

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  6. oh! oh! paris! and dublin! and lunch with friends!

    and what a wonderful skill, to look forward to all those things nearly equally.

    but paris...oh paris....

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  7. I could feel your anticipation as I read that, WWW ! Wonderful!

    I've never been to Dublin and Paris didn't give me goosebumps (as Rome did), but I still feel your joy.

    It dragged me out of my "we can't be spending too much this year in case everything goes even more pear-shaped than it is now" mood.

    Now, where's that calendar....where shall we go next?

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  8. @Hull:
    And you're always one to celebrate those little moments that are quite global in the overall scheme of things!
    @Pants:
    Any tips or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I'm glad you're safe, my dear, with the infernoes all around you!
    @Jo:
    And there are small things too which I didn't mention but are equally exciting.
    @Nick:
    Maybe we'll drop by and stuff you in the luggage and take you there!!
    @Irene:
    We can only learn from the past but not move back in there. Forward march, I say!!
    @Laurie:
    There's something about that place alright, though I sure hope things will have improved financially by the time I get there!
    @T:
    Absolutely, how many good years do we have left? (And this year may even wind up worse than it is now!)Budget, smudget, is my attitude.
    XO
    WWW

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  9. I try to live for the moment, and look forward to the good things. My cousin (from Paris!) is going to visit me next month. Sometimes when peeping into the future I inadvertantly glimpse something nasty, like, ugh, tax preparation. How do you keep those thoughts away?

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  10. Honestly, 20, I don't allow that crap in. That's just the self-maintenance side of life. I guess I mentally separate them.:^)But when it comes to a dentist appointment, that seems to resonate far too loudly in my head!!
    If you think of it ask your cousin should I put anything on my list of things to do/see. I've never seen the catacombs and would like to visit those. But there could be a lot more...thanks!
    XO
    WWW

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  11. I did see Paris a few times but not since 1999.

    Dublin is a different story altogether... perhaps we could arrange something and drag Nick out of his hidey hole!

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  12. Ah Paris! The unrealised dream for me. We got so close, in 2006, but I chickened out, partly because I was fed up of driving in France and wanted to get on to Spain and partly (largely) because The First Husband had already been there years before with The First Wife and all he can remember is the dogshit. And sure can't I get in the car right here and drive from Paris to London, and take in Listowel on the way back!

    Sounds like you have a great year lined up, WWW!

    XOT

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  13. GM:
    Oh that would be so grand to see you and Nick in Dublin!!! I'll be there approx a week beginning of June it looks like.
    It would give you an excuse to see Elly too, not that you need any!!
    XO
    WWW

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  14. Tessa:
    You had me for a second there, I thought what on earth, is the woman gone mad and then ha-ha, cos I've played that joke on so many people....I'll say let's do lunch in Paris today. Pretty little place that, Paris, Ontario.
    I love to see things written down, it makes them so much more real.
    XO
    WWW

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  15. Drag me out of my hidey hole indeed. I'm sure something could be arranged. I'll make a note about early June and we could fix something later.

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  16. H'mm, Nick, I thought you were hiding from our GM, fed up with all the competition from the Toy Boys!!
    XO
    WWW

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  17. What competition? I thought my bodyguards had dealt with them all. Don't tell me some of them are still alive....

    Word check: whagglet. Isn't that a type of Canadian otter?

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  18. Irene:
    Thank you *bows modestly* grabs trophy and runs.
    XO
    WWW

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  19. I think the bodyguards got waylaid by Voluptua, the Insatiable.
    Whagglet: def: a small dog, kept by boylets such as Conor.
    XO
    WWW

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