Memory Reel

Several months ago, my friend Daniele and I planned a small adventure. It was our something to look forward to... We saw something we felt like doing and instead of shrugging our shoulders in a "wouldn't that be nice" attitude, we decided to just do it. Our plan: Drive to Philadelphia, have dinner,  and finally see the Indigo Girls in concert at the Kimmel Center. I mean, it's not like it was an arduous journey or extremely far outside the box... but it wasn't the kind of thing we'd normally do and we weren't really sure why.

I think it's partly because we so seldom treat ourselves to something like that. It seems so often that other people say: "Hey, we should do that," and they just do it. Daniele and I see something we'd love to do and we wonder if our other responsibilities or concerns will get in the way, we prioritize others ahead of ourselves, and/or we are too frugal. 

I told someone recently that moving forward, I don't want material stuff. I want experiences. What I want years from now isn't boxes of nice crap or a house full of luxury. I want awesome memories. 

When I was with my best friend in Connecticut over her wedding weekend a few weeks ago, I went with her to the jewelry store to get her engagement ring cleaned for her wedding day. She looked at me and asked me if I would do something completely different the next time I get married. 

The short answer is yes. I don't want stuff. I want experiences that will be part of a memory reel later. I told her seriously that instead of a nice ring, I'd rather go on a trip somewhere awesome with the person I loved. I always want a memory - an awesome experience - over a possession.

In that same vein, I'd rather buy tickets to a concert and have a Sunday night adventure with my friend than buy something material for myself. So off we went...

Ever since I first heard the Indigo Girls in the backseat of my dad's car decades ago, I've loved the song Watershed. It's kind of like a life staple, especially now... and it seems to fit in perfectly with my post tonight.

Thought I knew my mind like the back of my hand

The gold and the rainbow, nothing panned out as I planned

They say only milk and honey's gonna make your soul satisfied

Well I better learn how to swim 'cause the crossing is chilly and wide

Twisted guardrails on the highway, broken glass on the cement

A ghost of someone's tragedy, how recklessly my time has been spent

They say that it's never too late but you don't, you don't get any younger

Well I better learn how to starve the emptiness and feed the hunger

Up on the watershed standing at the fork in the road

You can stand there and agonize till your agony's your heaviest load

You'll never fly as the crow flies, get used to a country mile

When you're learning to face the path at your pace

Every choice is worth your while

And there's always retrospect to light a clearer path

Every five years or so I look back on my life and I have a good laugh

You start at the top, go full circle round, catch a breeze, take a spill

But ending up where I started again makes me wanna stand still

Up on the watershed standing at the fork in the road

You can stand there and agonize till your agony's your heaviest load

You'll never fly as the crow flies, get used to a country mile

When you're learning to face the path at your pace

Every choice is worth your while

Stepping on a crack

Breaking up and looking back

'Til every tree limb overhead just seems to sit and wait

'Til every step you take becomes a twist of fate

Up on the watershed standing at the fork in the road

You can stand there and agonize till your agony's your heaviest load

You'll never fly as the crow flies, get used to a country mile

When you're learning to face the path at your pace

Every choice is worth your while

And now I have another memory to add to the reel...another experience to enrich my life...another promise of more fun times to come.