I Wished the Week Away for Years

My life had become about waiting on the clock to strike quitting time.

The end of the workday got me closer to the weekend. Each completed week got me closer to the day I could retire and my wife and I could enjoy all the free time.

That’s no way to live, and I’m tired of living that way.

A coworker said something that stayed with me:

“We wish our lives away and wait on Friday.”

That is exactly what I had been doing.

I was waiting on the clock. Waiting on Friday. Waiting on the weekend. Waiting on retirement.

I am 56 years old. I have grandkids. There is still a lot of life in front of me, and there are things I can enjoy every day.

Not huge things. Not expensive things. The little moments.

A good conversation. Sitting outside. Watching a game. Taking a drive. Enjoying a meal. Spending time with the people I love. Having a few minutes that do not belong to work, chores, or somebody else’s schedule.

Every day doesn’t have to be a fiesta.

But every day should contain something that reminds you it is your life.

I am still looking forward to retirement. My wife and I will have more freedom then, and we will be able to do things we cannot do now.

But I do not want to spend all the years between now and then waiting for life to begin.

The years before retirement still count.

That is what I am trying to pay more attention to now. Not making every day exciting. Not pretending work is something I enjoy. Just noticing the parts of the day that are already available to me instead of treating the whole present like a waiting room.

I am starting to explore that idea here at Your Years Ahead.

I also built a small first tool called Make Today Yours. It is not a life-changing system or a complicated program. It simply asks what kind of time and energy you have, then offers one small idea you might try.

It may help today. It may not.

Either way, it is just a place to start.

You do not have to wait for Friday.

You do not have to wait for retirement.

There may be one small part of today that can belong to you.