Yesterdays and Tomorrows

Everything today seems to be instantaneous.  Shazam…instant grits, instant pie shells,  instant weight loss, instant tea!

Instant is not all it's cracked up to be in my book.

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Do you remember listening to the radio waiting for your favorite song?

I had a small  transistor radio that fit nicely under my pillow.  I loved listening to the music before falling asleep to the strains of  "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry.”  (Hank Williams, senior)

I remember driving down Highway 30 going to Marshalltown and the Carpenters came on the radio singing...."Close to YOU."  Swoon.

My freshman year at Iowa State...the campus radio on a Friday night....a crazy, long, long song came on...."American Pie."  I needed to find out more about this Don McClean guy.

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Wolfman Jack was real.  Dick Youngs spun those songs on KIOA.  WHO was clear channel radio and you could also catch the bean prices at noon if you were listening.  KFJB had "Little Bohemia" at 6:00 p.m. and played polkas.  WLS from Chicago could be heard on a clear night all the way to Central Iowa.  Bill Elder was my morning friend when we moved to Macon.  I loved the radio...I still do.

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2015
So, this afternoon,  I was sitting and thinking about buying the songs that had been up for Song of the Year on the Grammies.  I was going to be hip.  I’d open I-tunes, buy the songs,  listen to the songs-- all in under five minutes!  I could make my own play lists....and those songs I longed to hear would be delivered to me instantaneously. Hmph!  Something just wasn't right.  WHOA!  Not so fast.

1966-
I would buy one 45 rpm each time I had an extra dollar.  I would catch a ride to Marshalltown (15 miles from State Center) with dad and pick out a record.  I loved buying a new record.  I would play it over and over.  AND over and over.  From the Beatles to "One Last Kiss", those records were part of me.  One record....one dollar.....one a week if I was lucky.

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Instant gratification isn't all it's cracked up to be.  Believe it or not, the chance of hearing a favorite song on the radio was fun.  It was the anticipation-- the excitement of hearing it-- calling a friend on the rotary phone and telling them to "turn on the radio, it's on"-- riding in the car listening to the songs of my life.  Being surprised when the song that you LOVED was loved by many.

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So, I know the tomorrows of my life must contain anticipation for me to be contented.  Knitting.  Thinking.  Cooking.  Laughing.   Planting.  AND I'm enjoying waiting on some of the things I've always wanted to do.  The day-to-day things that have seemed beyond my grasp are no more....my life has spread out and I'm loving the sunshine on my face.

Today, I planted three bleeding hearts roots/tubers/ rhizomes(?) and a handful of lily of the valley bulbs.  I have seeds to sow--the black-eyed Susans,  hollyhocks, and poppies.  I want to have a woodland garden....Jack in the Pulpits.....Money plants....Japanese lanterns.....a small rock garden.  (Food for the deer?)  It is the anticipation of looking at the seed catalogs and laughing at the idea of  my deer sending out formal announcements that the "Spring Mix” will be here soon--that makes me excited about my new plants.

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I like waiting on the good.  Sometimes it seems like I’m slow....no, it’s just that the process is just as much fun as the product for me.  So, hello tomorrow, I’m getting ready for you today.