The Joy Of Anticipation

Are you old enough to remember lay-a-way? If not, let me give you the skinny of how it worked. You see something in the store you want but can’t afford it at the moment. You ask the store to put it on lay-a-way and you agree on a weekly payment plan. Each week you make your agreed payment and in 4-16 weeks you finish paying for your item and you get to take it home.

Sounds ancient, I know. But hang with me here, there is wisdom. One of the only items I ever purchased on lay-a-way was a birthstone ring. I was 14 and working part time as a camp counselor for the summer. Each week I paid $10 toward the ring and at the end of summer, it was mine. I wore it the first day of school and felt like a Queen.

I still love the ring and wear it on occasion. But what I remember most, is the anticipation of owning it. The sweet anticipation. I thought about that ring all summer. I anticipated how great it would look on my finger. How proud I would be to have bought something so special for myself. As much as the ring was a gift to myself, the anticipation was even more so.

COVID has given us back the Joy of Anticipation. We can’t get anything we want right now by hopping in the car and going to get it. Or tomorrow by ordering it from Amazon. Things are out of stock. They aren’t available. The store is closed.

And so.. we get to anticipate.

Try this on. Rather than push against what is not present. What if you found the joy in anticipating its return?

Be well, stay safe and prosper,
Mackey