Timing

To celebrate finishing my school year, I give you the following meme that I found some time ago on Carol's blog, Northwest Ladybug.

10 years ago... I was in the grips of situational depression which started the spring after my sister's death from lung cancer. Unlike losing my father six years previously to prostate cancer, I couldn't seem to grasp that my sister was gone. It was partly her age (just shy of 49); partly that she'd left behind her 14-year-old son, and I couldn't imagine that for my own son; and partly that I missed her. I spent close to 10 weeks in black, rolling, waves, until I got some help that actually worked around June. The depression lifted like fog off the San Francisco Bay. It was one of the most luxurious and wonderful feelings I've encountered.

10 months ago... It was July 4th, and we started the day at 7:00 a.m. at the Farmers Market and later had a lovely family celebration with farmed foods, games and s'mores. I think we went to the nearby lake, too.

10 weeks ago... we were on the last day of C's Winter Break. I'd still had to work that week, and so had D, but I'd only had to teach on Monday and get my other stuff done. C had his D&D group that day, so D and I probably went out for Indian food, or it may have been the day that I made D a special 40 garlic chicken which we ate as a romantic dinner at home. Inevitably, since it was a school year Sunday, I'm sure I did some corrections, as well.

10 days ago... It was the day after C's b'day. I had a very productive day that day and I got tons of work done for school, had some writing time, and worked on various house chores. C finally got enough of a break in his homework load that he went to Ring of Steel, his stage combat troop, that night.

10 hours ago... I was asleep

10 minutes ago... I was getting ready to start this blog entry.

10 minutes from now... I will be finished with this blog entry.

10 hours from now... I will probably be watching Moonlight with C., if he finishes his enormous homework load that he's already been working on since 9, after working from 10 - 3 yesterday. (Too. much. homework.)

10 days from now...I will have an interminable doctor's appt. in the morning with my wonderful doctor who always runs at least an hour behind. (He really is wonderful, but he's never, ever on time). Hopefully, that afternoon I'll be picking up my mother from the airport, but I'm not counting on that right now, as she's sick with a stubborn bacterial infection, and I'm not sure she'll actually be well enough to travel by then.

10 weeks from now... will be my birthday. It will be my 49th birthday. I plan to celebrate in some big way, because for me, this is much bigger than my 50th birthday, because it will mean that I made it to 49 when my sister didn't. I've been ridiculously superstitious about this birthday for the past 11 years. Cancer leaves an ugly shadow.

10 months from now... It will be that time in Michigan when we are all yearning and burning for spring weather. My Japanese daughter will have just turned 22, and my Danish son will be just shy of 20 and my mother will be having a significant birthday three days later. I might well be in NYC to visit her, but I'm guessing I'll leave that Tuesday, rather than Sunday, so I can teach my classes on Monday.

10 years from now... I hope to see C done with education and having at least met his life's partner. I'd love to see him finding work, or an area of work, that he enjoys and that suits him and that he's on his way to being settled in life. I hope that all those I love will be in good health. I hope to have at least one novel published. I hope to still be teaching if I'm not too much of a cranky old lady by then. I hope to be in better shape than I am now. I hope that D will be happy and healthy and winding down his career. I hope we'll have enough saved that when we DO hit retirement that we can get some travel time in. On a less, completely self-centered note, I hope that our world will be healing and that we will have struck more parity between countries and between citizens within countries and that the U.S. will have a much better, more globally-minded leader.

What do you hope for 10 years from now?