FUTURE DIARY

      Do you have a future diary?  You probably wonder what in the world is that?  Well, it is where you put your thoughts, dreams, goals, and anything else you would like for yourself in the future.  Don’t confuse it with a daily diary...it isn’t.  It is for your future.

      I always wanted to put down my goals for the future, so I wouldn’t get sidetracked.  

      There were goals for one month, one year, five years, ten years, and twenty years.          Sometimes, they had to be put on hold, like when I had to care for my elderly in-laws in our house.  But, when that was finished, I got right back on track again.  Of course, a month later, my parents needed my care, so it was put on hold again.  

     My mind kept pushing me to do some of what I wanted to do when I retired, but there didn’t seem to be much time, other than caring for my loved ones.  

     When my husband went into renal failure and was put on dialysis, I thought my plans had gone out the window.  Actually, it was what I needed to begin my goal of writing a book.  Instead of my book being fiction, I wrote about what I knew best, caregiving and how to keep from going crazy in the process.  I took the experiences that happened the last 10 years of caregiving and put them in my book.  It turned out pretty good and I sold a lot of them. 

     A friend of mine was in the publishing business, at that time and he asked me to write the book while I sat in the hospital with my husband for eight long months.  

     So, you see, your goals can be reached even thought your plans change.  If it hadn’t been for all the caregiving I wouldn’t have written “What To Do When Mom Moves In.”   Life has a way of bringing us back to where we are suppose to be.  Life is funny that way.  Yes, it is!

     If you haven’t made some goals for yourself, perhaps this is the time to do it.  Isn’t there something that you always wanted to do or try?  Maybe write about your lost love, or your experiences in the Armed Forces.  Perhaps you wanted to climb a mountain, or learn to play the guitar, or maybe start your own business.  These things are your dreams, the ones that push you forward in your chosen field to save money for the future...if you can these days.  Whatever your passion is, pursue it...like it was the last thing you do in life.  Make the time to be passionate about something.  It makes life worth living.

     If you are young create a Future Diary and place your goals and dreams inside.  Read it regularly and think about it every day, and you will find that it has begun to materialize.  Reach one goal and start on another.  You can do it...I did.