“I must have a prodigious amount of mind; it takes me as much as a week, sometimes, to make it up!”
The house was colder than outside this morning. I was surprised how warm it felt when I went out to the yard to get the papers. There are a few clouds, but the sun is wonderfully bright as becomes a spring morning.
When I was little, I had easy decisions to make like what I wanted for breakfast, what I wanted packed for lunch or where I wanted to go on a Saturday. None of my choices were life affirming. I didn’t even know what life affirming was. On school mornings, I had to decide whether I wanted cereal or eggs. I figured that was a big decision, a seriously big decision. How did I want my eggs?
The first real decision I had to make was where I’d go to high school. The town’s high school was not in the mix, only Catholic schools were. I had to take entry tests for every one to which I was applying. Some schools were co-ed while others were all-girl. My friend Jimmy and I made a pact to fail the single sex school tests so we could go to school together. We did and nobody was the wiser. Nobody wondered why we got into all the co-ed schools and only the co-ed schools. After we were accepted, we talked it over and made our choice. That was my the first hurdle out of childhood, the first one that counted.
My college choice was all mine. I stayed with co-ed. I stayed in Massachusetts. I stay with Catholic, but that was not really part of my decision. It was just happenstance. I always thought my college decision was sort of my first adult decision, one with impact moving me closer to adulthood.
The most life affirming decision I ever made was to accept the invitation to join the Peace Corps and to go to Africa. The rest of my life has flowed from there. I found my life’s passion in Ghana. I became a teacher.
As for now, I’m back to whether or not I want cereal or eggs for breakfast. Should I go out or stay home and be warm and cozy? What’s on my dance card? The most difficult decision I have to make is what I’m having for dinner or do I just order a pizza.
Explore posts in the same categories: Musings
May 25, 2023 at 10:23 am
Just a hello and a thank you:
Today I visited ‘Letters from a hill farm’, ‘spritewrites’ & ‘castles made of sand’. All went into my blog reading list.
(I found on either castles or hill farm a link to a 2020 obituary of Jan Morris–a remarkable life!
Now I’ve got to get back to my day!….
May 26, 2023 at 9:48 am
“A couple are as old or older than Coffee”
I have been reading blogs for a long time (including Coffee!) and it is reassuring when I return to ones I’ve known (or not) and find them not only surviving but still stimulating….
May 26, 2023 at 11:07 am
I started started Coffee when I retired in 2004. Back then I had no idea I’d be writing this or such a long time. It was originally for posting folk music with a bit of commentary. The pictures were in color. I remember how excited I was to get my first comment. Over time Coffee became what it is right now.