Looking Forward

     I wonder what the rest of us will think when news articles are no longer written. I wonder what the last newspaper published on Earth will be. Who will post the last youtube video? Who will sing the last song? All of those questions are on my mind today, as I consider the way in which all technologies evolve, and eventually die. Is anyone still making VHS tapes? If not, what was the last VHS to be produced? Did they know it was the last VHS? 

     I wonder if people often think of the things that will be there last- but most of the time I think that these things pass by without fanfare. I heard a quote once that said in essence that one day, your mother picked you up, set you down, and never picked you back up again. That hit me because of it’s truth. It honestly made me feel a little sad, like I wanted to go over to my parent's house to see if my mom even could still pick me up. When was the last bottle I took? What was the last word I spoke in high school? What was I wearing on the last day of my first job? The day before I met my husband, what was I thinking about in terms of my love life? The last time I did a homework assignment in middle school- what was on my mind?

     Of course, the only reason I can ponder the “lasts” of my life is because there have been just as many “firsts.” My last day of middle school led to my first day of high school. My last bottle as a baby led to a foray in solid food. The fact that my mother no longer picks me up means that I can move independently in the world. I hope that in my life, I will have many more “firsts”, but I must remember that each “first” starts because of a “last.” 

     In a time of transition, it can be easy to focus on the lasts of life. It can be easy to gt stuck on all of the memories you’ll never re-create, all of the people you’ll never see again, and all of the experiences that  can never be replicated. However, it’s important to keep your mind set on the future. Everything good that’s coming into your life is going to take place in the future, not the past. You can look backwards with fondness, but remember to turn your head forward and get your smile ready for all of the blesses heading your way tomorrow.