When I first moved to Western Mass a couple of years ago, I found it difficult to line up health care services with the ease I was used to in Atlanta where I was a patient in the gigantic Emory Healthcare network. Finding a primary care physician that I could meet in person in Western Mass came with a six months plus wait. The same was true for the dentist and also for a dermatologist.
Last week, after a year and a half of anticipation (including a two month postponement due to scheduling issues on the doctor’s end), I finally had my preventative skin check at the dermatology office. The exam was quick, and the PA who performed it kept pointing out spots on me, sharing the scientific name of the skin condition, and then pronouncing them “gifts of time” rather than causes for concern. Given the long lead up time, the appointment itself felt like a gift from my past self.
Gifts of time
This got me thinking about the activities I plan for myself and how putting them far into the future forces me to draw up the energy for the task in a way that I would not be willing to do spontaneously. For instance, on the day of my dermatology appointment, I did not want to make the half hour drive to Springfield, but I’d already waited a year and a half and didn’t want to have another year go by.
The same is true for activities that I enjoy like going to see theater productions. In mid-April, I took a day trip to New York City to see John Proctor is the Villain on Broadway. I’d purchased my tickets months in advance, and as fun as going into the city was, I’ve been zero tempted to repeat the experience in the weeks since.
I have another “gift of time” planned for this July: a trip with my parents. We’re headed to a vacation spot on Lake Erie, one that is roughly halfway between where they live and where David and I live. I planned the trip back in January, right after David and I returned home from Ohio and had driven by the place where my mom thought it’d be fun for us to meet up.
Doctor’s appointments, theater tickets, vacations—these are all examples of gifts for your future self. What else do you do? What can you plan for yourself now that you’ll enjoy a few months or even a year down the line?
Yes vacation planning is all that anticipation, planning and enjoyment. Currently I am in southern France and this trip had a different dynamic. With the rap that 'Merica has these days we have been full of anticipation and nervousness as to how we would be received. Fortunately we have felt little backlash.
What about time at FitWit. That is really a big gift to my future self.
And looking forward to a new habit of journaling. Another future gift.