Flashback...
We moved to
India when I was 10. One thing that made this move easier was a secret that I
had with my best friend. The plan was that I accompany my parents to India,
stay for a while and then sneak back to Germany. It was going to be easy…I had
a passport with which the flight attendants would let me board, I’d tell them
that I wanted to go to Germany…they’d take me, of course…and then my friend and
her parents would adopt me. Like I said, easy…right?
It did take
some time to realize that this was a case of “Easier said than done”. When I
recently met with my friend after 22 years, we had a good laugh about how naïve
we were as kids.
What made me
think about this now? I happened to attend a baptism at church the other day.
My thoughts drifted from baptism to other highlights in life…marriage, family
and eventually, of course, death.
It made me
wonder about all the plans that I make now…about the family, the trips,
retirement, meeting friends….all those things…am I still being naïve? What guarantee
do I have that any of these things will ever happen? None at all….but I still
keep on making them.
I have plans
to settle in Kerala some day, a nice home, meeting with friends and traveling
around… I dream about the boys growing up and all that..
Would it
help if I stopped making these plans just because I feel that I might be
building castles in the air? I don’t think so. Making plans is good. They help
me go one even when life seems tough. They are the promises I make myself that
no matter how difficult life gets, it will be better soon.
So yes, I am
going to continue planning my lovely future. Yes, there will be ups and
downs…but I will just plan some more and enjoy each moment that I am granted.
