Arriving !!

Hi Readers,

Two posts in less than a week, you can tell I'm on holidays!!

And just to spare you, this won't be a philosophical mind bender, I'll give you a break.

This one stems from something I mentioned in my last post... 

"Do you ever have occasions when things come to your attention or drop into your lap at just the right time?"

Well this happened to me yesterday when I was driving out to visit a friend, and it was the purely simple nature of it that brought back so many great, and not so great memories that I'm sure even you will relate to.  Not relating to my memories of course, but memories of your own that this post just might trigger.

Well, maybe it wasn't this big, but it may as well have been !

As I was driving through Bendigo I went past a caravan park near my home in the late afternoon. As I was approaching it I needed to give way to a car towing a massive caravan and was amazed at the sheer size of the combined vehicles. I followed it for a block or two, and then it turned into the caravan park, and I was on my way again.

As I kept driving I started to think where they had come from? How far had they driven today ? How exhausted were they? Or maybe they were fine?

When Jen and I and our 3 boys went on our numerous trips up to QLD, or up through the middle of Australia to Uluru, Alice Springs and Darwin we were always pretty knackered by the time we checked into our digs at the end of a long day of driving.

We even had a camper trailer for a few years, and at the end of many hours of driving we'd then have to muster up the energy to set up camp.

Little wonder our boys didn't really share our enthusiasm for camping !

I was wondering if the people pulling into the caravan park yesterday were feeling the same way, that feeling of excitement and relief that the day in the car was over and we were now at our destination. Judging by the size of their caravan they didn't look like the sort of travellers who would need too much time to move into relaxation mode.

So this brings me to the point of this post.

When have you had similar experiences when you have worked hard all day travelling by whatever means, and you finally reach your destination at the end of the day?

Do you, like me feel like falling in a heap, safe in the knowledge that rest is just around the corner?

Well, if Jen was here she'd contradict that last statement as more often than not I'd don my running gear and head out for a run around our new location to check things out and get my bearings. 

Well that was what I'd tell her. She'd just say I was feeding my exercise addiction !!!

And these trips need not be hours and hours long either Readers.

Just last week I was driving home from school, a 20 minute trip and I was struggling to stay awake at 5.00 in the afternoon! I felt worse than as if I'd been driving for 8 hours.

When I pulled up in the garage it took all the energy I could muster just to get out of the car and into the house.

And my remedy ? Yep, you guessed it. Out to the shed and onto the bike in the belief that this would re-energise me. Not sure if it worked physically, but mentally it was just the tonic.

Must be an addiction after all !!! Sorry Jen 🙄

We have been extremely fortunate to have travelled a lot overseas before Jen got sick, creating memories that will last forever. For those who have done the long haul flights to North America or Europe you will know how taxing they can be and how your body clock gets totally trashed. We leave our homes all excited and wind up on the other side of the world looking and feeling like we have just been put through the washing machine.

At least when you are flying to your overseas destination the excitement somewhat dulls the tiredness, but the trip home often feels twice as bad and twice as long.

How many of you remember the trips home from wherever more than the trips to wherever you are going? I suppose the reality hits us on the way home that we are heading back to our various grindstones, but a positive person would say that these "grindstones" are what enable us to do these trips in the first place.

As I said earlier, we have travelled a lot, and hopefully I'll still be able to do some more.

One thing we started to do on our trips was to buy a bottle opener from as many places that we could as a momento of that place.

Why a bottle opener? Who knows.

Most likely because we both knew they would get used, but also because they were extremely easy to carry home.

This is not the total collection, there are many more tucked away, and no, they do not always sit on the door of the fridge.

Whenever I grab one I stop and think about where I was, who I was with and what memories I have of that place. It's such a great way to recall one's past, and we have had an absolute ball building this collection together.

I now place them on the side of the fridge where I can't see them and whenever I need to use one (or more if the footy is on !!) I tell myself that whatever one I randomly pull out is where I will travel to next. But then I say that about the next one and so on.

There are so many places I'd love to go back to again, but then I tell myself that would be at the expense of visiting a new place.

Of all of them though, I'm sure to go back to London. I've been there a few times and it just never fails to leave me in awe.

On our last trip away we were due to travel through Germany, but unforeseen extreme weather meant we had to skip that part of the trip, so that is where my thoughts are now. I pinch myself at what we have done and where we went together and not for a moment am I forgetting how lucky I have been.

Going back to the title of "Arriving", brings back some very special memories, ones that I would never have anticipated until I experienced them, and I was only talking about this with someone yesterday.

A few years ago, our eldest son Sam was working in London, and I was over there on a Scholarship trip. We arranged to meet at the Borough Market for lunch, and as excited as I was to see him after so long away, nothing could have prepared me for the absolute thrill and joy I felt as I saw him coming towards me through the crowd. I wasn't prepared for the emotion I felt, but it was something I'll never forget.

A similar example when I was at Melbourne airport to welcome Will home after a few years in Canada. Likewise, a few months earlier Jen and I had to say goodbye to him and leave the bar where we had all met for afternoon drinks on our last day with him.

Likewise, the hardest thing is the opposite of this, when you say goodbye to one of your kids overseas when you are the one flying home. I experienced the joy of the catch up, but then a few days later had the huge deflation when I flew home, having that same feeling of having sat behind the wheel of the car for many hours. 

I guess it just goes to show we just have to accept all the bad with the good, and this is what can define us.

Whoops, going down philosophical street there, something I said I wouldn't do on this post !!

So, my focus today is all about trying to celebrate the arriving somewhere, rather than dwelling on the dullness or ordeal of the journey to get there. Is this because we focus too much at times at the end and not the means?

Once again going down that street I wasn't meant to mention, we can also apply this concept to our daily lives. I know as much as all of you that sometimes we have great things to look forward to, but the method to get there is much less than what we desire.

How we carry ourselves at these times says a lot about us, and can often have effects on those around us.

What we choose to do about it can dictate these effects greatly.

For instance, yesterday I was going in to have a cortisone shot into my hand for an ongoing problem I have. At the moment with my body you could just about jab a cortisone needle anywhere with a blindfold on and you'd hit something that needed some treatment !!

Anyway, the mindset I adopted yesterday morning went a long way towards me having either a good day or a bad day. I recently read Andre Agassi's book and his description of receiving a cortisone shot is so descriptive and accurate.

I just didn't look as the needle went into my knuckle, and thought about what Agassi wrote about, and before too long I opened my eyes to see the 3rd needle finishing and it was over. To say it was painful is an understatement, but by focusing on the 'destination', the 'journey' wasn't as bad as I was anticipating. I knew that what was being done was going to leave me in a better place, so the attitude needed to remain positive - don't think about the pain of the needle, focus on the relief it will bring.

And the main thing too - at least I'll get better. Too many others don't.

It was just an ant, not an elephant.

So is this another weird way of comparing things? I started off talking about a caravan and end up talking about bottle openers and cortisone injections . I warn you constantly that I digress !!

Well Readers,

Before I start to digress further and start to try saving the world, here it is in a nutshell....

• Embrace the journey, and what it takes to get there. Even if the destination isn't what you may hope for. Celebrate what is worth celebrating along the way. I don't know how I would have got through this year if I didn't try to do this, as incredibly hard as it has been.
• Our 'arriving' each day to work  - do we turn up in a deflated frame of mind and then take it out on all around us, or just suck it up and make the most of an ordinary situation? How often do we feel like we have just driven for 8 hours when we have only driven for 20 minutes.
• Forget about that crappy little tiff you had with someone, your next interaction could be your best one for the day - don't spoil that opportunity!
• Sounds too easy I know, but wouldn't it be good if we could actually buy 'perspective pills' !!

Finally,

A huge thank you to those who left comments after my last post, it means so much that you took the time to read, think and then respond. 

Thank You 🙏

Not sure if my waffle today will generate that much of a response, but I've enjoyed the time writing today and listening to my favourite music doing it. And my new Garmin watch from my boys is showing that I am relaxing more...Heartbeat now 46. I'm alive !!!!

Until my next post..

Cheers 😁