Best moments in life are unplanned

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January 21, 2010

By JIMMY LOWE The Glasgow Daily Times Thu Jan 21, 2010, 10:14 AM CST

GLASGOW — January has now lingered long enough on the calendar that I’ve become accustomed to dating my checks and correspondence as “2010.” During the last few days, I’ve not slipped up even once and used the “2009” date.

Whether you call it a yearly log, an agenda book, or simply a planner, I’ve got the newest version atop my desk. It contains my scribbling here and there of meetings that must be attended, duties that must be fulfilled, and appointments that must be kept.

Birthdays and anniversaries of family and friends are listed.

I’ve prepared a schedule to change the air filters in the house and the oil in the car.

The agendas for my new semester college classes are prepared.

Some travel is planned. Airline tickets are bought and hotel reservations are made. All this is recorded on the appropriate dates in the book.

I’ve even inked in the tentative date when a new grandchild is likely to arrive. Still a couple of months away, I’ve blocked out a few days on both sides of the expected birthday, just in case.

Yep, 2010 is somewhat custom-planned in the book. This is the way I always approach a new year.

Yet, as the hours of this year enter from the future, through the present, and exit into the past, there will come surprises. Some of these unscheduled events may ultimately become the most memorable that 2010 will offer. After all, life is composed more often with rather ordinary, unplanned moments. They may seem trivial, but these, too, are to be savored when they arrive.

There will likely be the usual visits with my mom. They continue to be frequent and unscheduled.

I’ll rock grandchildren to sleep. How can the sleepy needs of a little one be planned in advance? I’ll be handy when one begins to yawn.

There will be times to spend with my wife, times to visit friends, times to laugh and cry, and times to be confused and to learn. Perhaps these times, more so than the ones that are planned well in advance, best define our lives.

So, while I’m anticipating my scheduled events for this year, I’m also anticipating the usual and trivial moments, as well as the surprises, along the way. I know they’ll come. They always do.

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