The Several Things I did This Weekend
A trip to the Cabin
On Thursday I made a trip to the cabin. Unlike prior trips I did not take the boys, this time it was just me. I had planned to go to work on my screenplay drafts, focus on work, and spend time with my parents. I left the house at 4:15am Thursday morning, worked on the way up on the phone, and managed to arrive just after 1:00pm. The drive took longer than expected because I pulled off the road to handle some calls.
The weather was cold, but a nice change from Florida. I was able to quickly settle in and enjoyed my weekend. This was also my last trip prior to starting AirBNB rentals again so I had to do some work around the house. Thursday worked out to be a relaxing evening.
Friday was spent working, with a fire burning most of the day. My buddy Noel came to visit. Saturday we did some hiking after a great breakfast and then Noel headed out. I grabbed a nap and shower before dinner at my parents. I finished the evening buying supplies for the cabin.
Sunday was about getting ready to head home. I had high hopes of studying, riding my bike and doing several other “things” but managed none. I hate leaving the cabin and could have stayed for a week. But…
Spent time with Noel
My friend Noel came to visit. Noel is a former colleague and a good friend who lives in Atlanta. He arrived just prior to dinner and we headed into Helen to track down food. Over dinner I started sharing with Noel my screenplay idea. We worked our way through the storyline over the next several hours. With a 1L of beer drank and then hitting Tito’s and tonic our creative thoughts started to flow. Noel’s help was invaluable. His experience in the movie industry due to his Dad’s writing went a long way to helping me.
On Saturday we hiked to the top of Mt. Yonah. Along the way we talked about a lot of issues that guys our age face. There is a conflict between finding satisfaction, having been robbed of success in the Great Recession, fear over the next stages of our careers, and just being happy. Happiness was once defined by our jobs and our success at work. However, happiness seems to be more about family, hobbies, and time.
We shared thoughts of what-ifs. What if you found out tomorrow you had a year to live. And, every time I offer that experiment to someone work is never a consideration. Instead, time with family is the priority. Asking Noel what his bucket list would look like was interesting. I then shared my concept of PRA (Projected Retrospective Analysis) with Noel as we continued exploring what lay ahead in our lives. I rephrased the question to Noel with PRA in mind, “ten years from now we are hiking like this. What will you be glad you accomplished in the last ten years?”
I personally had one huge takeaway from my time with Noel. I need to live in the moment.
? — what — ?
While we sat on Mt. Yonah, 1500 feet about the surrounding land, seeing Atlanta 90 miles away and watching nearly a dozen hawks fly I forced myself to enjoy the moment and disregard the “Agenda” I carry in my head. For instance, I knew once Noel left I needed to study and wanted to ride my bike. I am a believer that my success in life has come from constantly allowing an agenda to drive everything. But, at 47 years old maybe it just doesn’t matter. I am wondering what harm might come?
Spent time with my Parents
After Noel left I went to spend time with my Mom and Dad and have dinner. Our visit was much shorter than I had planned, but that was o. We were able to just sit and talk. My Mom and Dad are facing decisions regarding whether to move and we are trying to get them to move to Florida. I am hopeful family will prevail and they will choose the road closer to us.
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