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.