A Plan

Does anyone plan ahead anymore?  If you were to pass tomorrow would your family be provided for?  Would you have a plan for how you would want your family taken care of?

In our family the two monarchs from both sides have severe health issues.  One suffers from a brain injury and the other from a lifetime disease that impairs mobility.  The men are the providers and the primary care takers of these women.  If something were to happen to either of the patriarchs is there a plan?  This is the discussion my significant other decided to have at 6am this morning

We both come from blue collar working families.  Neither one of our families were prepared.  When my mom had her accident her livelihood was taken.  She will never be able to go back to work.  My significant other’s father lost his retirement when the company he had worked for went belly up.  I think the very thought of such a thing happening to us would send Mr. Over Planning into a full blown anxiety attack. 

So, how does someone like me who plans for nothing and lives in the moment compensate for that lacking behavior?  Answer:  Cognitive thinking and classical conditioning.  There is no known cure.    

I think about planning for the future.  I want to retire, travel, spend time with my kids, and the other stuff in life.  However, the discipline it takes to put a plan in place and then stick to it fails me.  If you want something in life you can’t only dream about it you have to plan for it.  If I want to travel to England I don’t just hop on a plane and take off.  I need money, passport, a place to stay, etc.  The days of youth and spontaneity have come and gone.  I find that humorous.  When we are teenagers and don’t have a care in the world we want to hurry up and grow up.  I so wish that someone would have told me how fast it passes by.  I wish that someone would have taken the time to help me develop a plan. 

I think about that, right now, at this moment.  I never had anyone help me develop a plan for my life.  My parents used to say go to college but they never helped me figure out how to get there.  All they said is “do something with your life”.  I was 17 years old.  How in the hell was I supposed to know what to do with my life.  AHHHHHH...... the angels are singing in unison.  It only took me 18 years to come to that realization.

My co-worker says that he was a self starter.  His parents always encouraged him to go to college but he planned his path.  However, his sister didn’t have that drive and the parents had to help carry her along the way.  Who knows?