From November 29, 2008 - The Carrot
The Carrot
This time of year it is easy to motivate the children. Not only is Christmas just around the corner, but the WWE is also coming to town and thanks to my sister, Corinne, and brother-in-law Chuck, we have great seats.
"Clean your room if you want to go to wrestling," or "Let the dogs out if you really want what's on your Christmas list."
I have boys hopping around the house to get things done. And thankfully there is usually something that gets you up and out of bed on any given day. Kathy was looking forward to this weekend for shopping purposes - exhausted and full of shopping stories, she sat on the couch last night with eyes that were barely open:
"Was it all that you imagined?" I asked.
Bruce's new album is out at the end of January. Pitchers and catchers report in February. The Yanks begin their 27th title search in April.
There is always something there to attract our attention.
Yet what of the days when we are just doing what we do? Does it have to be absolute drudgery until we get to that moment we've been waiting for? What if that moment turns out to be something less? What if the wrestling matches are not as wild as what we imagined? What if that one present we were looking for isn't under the tree? What if the Yanks don't sign the pitching they need and they don't make the playoffs again? What if the Bruce album is disappointing?
Okay, so I got carried away with that last one - I apologize for even saying it!
Yet there are plenty of people who spend their days waiting for a moment - something that will carry them through the next set of 30 days or so - and the moment never truly comes.
I've lived long enough now to enjoy the journey. Sure Sam is going to talk non-stop for a couple of days on the weekend. Yeah, Jake is going to go absolutely ballistic about not winning a game on the X-box. Matt will certainly slam his fist in rage when the Bills or the Sabres inevitably lose. Certainly the house will get dirty again and the laundry will pile up. I guess I've mellowed right before my own eyes - because I don't get quite as amped up over the dangling carrot that I'm running behind.
And you know why?
Because the carrot that is actually in front of me is the life that I'm living. The house, the car, the TV, the warm bed, the plate of pasta coming on Sunday, the Bills games, a chance to go to work, book signings, writing something new and yes, doing the dishes, letting the dogs out, cleaning the friggen' storage room, shoveling snow, waking up tired, drinking a few martinis - it's all the carrot.
And when does the moment finally arrive?
I'm thinking it happens when you aren't really looking for it - it happens all at once, when you are finally able to sit back and say - there it is - I've been happy most of the time - and I've lived a life with a hundred good companions, and I've been sensible about things most of the time. It doesn't come when your team wins it all. It doesn't come when you survive being trampled by a Wal-Mart crowd, and although it's close, it doesn't even come when the new book or the new Springsteen album arrives.
I'm betting it comes late in life, if you're so blessed with the chance, to look back and say, 'Damn, I raised some good kids, I ate some great food, drank some fine wine, and laughed hard, and lived right.'
And yet there are lives interrupted before that moment of enlightenment comes, and that's why this post is all about not chasing that carrot every moment of your waking life, but understanding that the joy is in the journey and the successful life, no matter how long or short arrives when we understand that it was really all about the day-to-day excitement of being alive.
I was talking to a friend of mine who was asking me how to get through difficult times and it occurred to me that all of life may be a struggle if you allow it to be, but that there is also beauty in just living. That chasing that carrot that is just out of reach, is also part of the fun.
I hear the kids stirring in another part of the house. The cold winds are blowing mightily outside, but it's warm where I sit. There's breakfast to cook, things to clean up, dogs to go outside, laundry in the baskets, and work just 48 hours away.
It's all right.
Today I'm just going to sit back and eat the carrots that I've already snagged.
This time of year it is easy to motivate the children. Not only is Christmas just around the corner, but the WWE is also coming to town and thanks to my sister, Corinne, and brother-in-law Chuck, we have great seats.
"Clean your room if you want to go to wrestling," or "Let the dogs out if you really want what's on your Christmas list."
I have boys hopping around the house to get things done. And thankfully there is usually something that gets you up and out of bed on any given day. Kathy was looking forward to this weekend for shopping purposes - exhausted and full of shopping stories, she sat on the couch last night with eyes that were barely open:
"Was it all that you imagined?" I asked.
Bruce's new album is out at the end of January. Pitchers and catchers report in February. The Yanks begin their 27th title search in April.
There is always something there to attract our attention.
Yet what of the days when we are just doing what we do? Does it have to be absolute drudgery until we get to that moment we've been waiting for? What if that moment turns out to be something less? What if the wrestling matches are not as wild as what we imagined? What if that one present we were looking for isn't under the tree? What if the Yanks don't sign the pitching they need and they don't make the playoffs again? What if the Bruce album is disappointing?
Okay, so I got carried away with that last one - I apologize for even saying it!
Yet there are plenty of people who spend their days waiting for a moment - something that will carry them through the next set of 30 days or so - and the moment never truly comes.
I've lived long enough now to enjoy the journey. Sure Sam is going to talk non-stop for a couple of days on the weekend. Yeah, Jake is going to go absolutely ballistic about not winning a game on the X-box. Matt will certainly slam his fist in rage when the Bills or the Sabres inevitably lose. Certainly the house will get dirty again and the laundry will pile up. I guess I've mellowed right before my own eyes - because I don't get quite as amped up over the dangling carrot that I'm running behind.
And you know why?
Because the carrot that is actually in front of me is the life that I'm living. The house, the car, the TV, the warm bed, the plate of pasta coming on Sunday, the Bills games, a chance to go to work, book signings, writing something new and yes, doing the dishes, letting the dogs out, cleaning the friggen' storage room, shoveling snow, waking up tired, drinking a few martinis - it's all the carrot.
And when does the moment finally arrive?
I'm thinking it happens when you aren't really looking for it - it happens all at once, when you are finally able to sit back and say - there it is - I've been happy most of the time - and I've lived a life with a hundred good companions, and I've been sensible about things most of the time. It doesn't come when your team wins it all. It doesn't come when you survive being trampled by a Wal-Mart crowd, and although it's close, it doesn't even come when the new book or the new Springsteen album arrives.
I'm betting it comes late in life, if you're so blessed with the chance, to look back and say, 'Damn, I raised some good kids, I ate some great food, drank some fine wine, and laughed hard, and lived right.'
And yet there are lives interrupted before that moment of enlightenment comes, and that's why this post is all about not chasing that carrot every moment of your waking life, but understanding that the joy is in the journey and the successful life, no matter how long or short arrives when we understand that it was really all about the day-to-day excitement of being alive.
I was talking to a friend of mine who was asking me how to get through difficult times and it occurred to me that all of life may be a struggle if you allow it to be, but that there is also beauty in just living. That chasing that carrot that is just out of reach, is also part of the fun.
I hear the kids stirring in another part of the house. The cold winds are blowing mightily outside, but it's warm where I sit. There's breakfast to cook, things to clean up, dogs to go outside, laundry in the baskets, and work just 48 hours away.
It's all right.
Today I'm just going to sit back and eat the carrots that I've already snagged.
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