Sunday Scribblings: anticipation

Anticipation makes me think of

= Carly Simon
= that tiny moment just before lips touch
= how the music changes in a movie to let me know when to cover my eyes
= pre-living a vacation while I’m reading the travel books and poring over the maps
= sensing that the car in the next lane is about to move over
= feeling the tension slide off my shoulders while the bath water is still running
= glancing around for the daffodils when I smell that new, earthy warmth in the air
= ants

When something happens over and over, anticipation turns into expectation. Things run on automatic pilot, letting me focus on other things. I expect:
= the next step to be there as I lower my foot toward it
= cold air to meet me when I open the refrigerator door
= a room to light up when I flip the switch
= the engine to turn over when I turn the key

But other times, when anticipation becomes automatic and turns into expectation, requirements creep in and the fun leaks out.
= requiring a good-night kiss
= expecting that a gift will be given on a certain day
= needing the trip to follow the careful plan

Anticipation is about the new and fresh before it turns into the every day.

It’s also about escape, which somewhere along the line has mistakenly been turned into a negative concept. While I value the wisdom of being in the present, too much of a good thing is deadening. The imagination needs to slip free from the here and now. A little bit of wandering off keeps the soul young.

Give yourself a holiday. Take some time to anticipate something lovely and delicious…some time to dream of what can be.