It’s A Keep On Keeping On Kind Of Day

            --being a bit reflective here on how I’ve been feeling . . .

When I was a teacher I remember telling students over and over, “You can do it. Believe in yourself. Don’t let anything or anyone stop you from reaching your dreams.” I must have said those exact words, or something similar a “million” times. I believe what I told those kids; I really do, although I realize, from personal experience that possessing the drive “to keep on keeping on” in pursuit of a goal is not always easy.

Moving forward despite setbacks, distractions, and naysayers obliges one to dig deep. It requires tenacity and continued hard work. How easy it would be to say, “The hell with it. I’m done. I’m going to sit beside the pool for the next month and veg.” The idea sounds appealing, but I know that lifestyle would not work for me. It would be boring. It’s not in my nature simply to sit around doing nothing. I feel obligated to be productive every day. I don’t view that as negative and, actually, thank my parents for instilling such drive in me, for they were, in fact, hard working folks who though not rich, provided a secure, middle class home for my brother and me. My brother, as I am, is driven to succeed as well. He was a very successful architect and is an accomplished artist. He seamlessly has moved from one career into another without so much as a second thought about doing so and I’m impressed.

I like to think the same is so for me. Teaching was my career for years, and when I retired, I thought I would miss it terribly. I haven’t. Instead, I have moved on and have found pleasure in writing. I write every day. Yet, with that being said, I admit I have moments when I feel as though I have processed myself into a corner and I am not sure which way to turn. It is not a comfortable feeling.

I don’t know if my brother’s artwork becomes difficult or onerous at times, but if it does, I can understand, for the process of writing can be tedious and challenging. When that occurs, that poolside setting appears very inviting. A serious, private conversation with myself, however, generally sets my head on straight and I can move forward. “You can do it,” I tell myself as if I were a sixteen-year-old. “Keep reaching for that goal. It’s not apt to disappear any time soon.”