Changing Priorities
Changing Priorities
Today, while cleaning out a spare bedroom, in order to make room for potential guests from out of town, I realized how much that spare room and my priorities have changed over the years.
At one time, that room was used primarily as a playpen for a cat. Then it became a storage room, a bedroom for my son, then storage again, then a bedroom for my son and granddaughter and finally a storage room again. Now we are converting it into a guest room for visiting bikers from other states.
As I went through the many boxes of papers and other miscellaneous items found in that room, my mind started to drift back and forth through time and every item I ran across seemed to remind me of era's that were once priorities in my life.
Some items reminded me of a time when my top priority was my "club family", trying to support and raise a biological family, businesses I owned, hobbies my wife or I enjoyed and old friends and family members that have passed away over the years.
I am not sure if it was the fact that one of my wife's best friends passed away last night, or that my Doctor just put me on some new meds that may have a negative effect on my ability to ride a motorcycle, or the fact that my wife and I just got back from a road trip where we road almost 2, 000 miles on our bike and almost half of those miles were spend on two lane roads through the mountains, but something reminded me of how mortal we are and how much MY priorities have changed as I have gotten older.
For many years, I was a packrat. I kept everything from old magazines and newspapers to souvenirs or reminders of all the places I have traveled over the years, bike rallies I have been to and other bikers I have met.
Part of that packrat lifestyle was inherited from my mother and part of it was a result of me spending 40+ years involved in genealogy and tracing family histories, however over the years, I have come to realize that many of the "treasures" or memories that are special to me, will have no value or importance to others after I am gone, so I might as well "thin out" my keepsake collections while I am still able to choose which items should be sold or given away and which ones should be thrown in the trash and cleaning out a storage room or garage once a year is a great way to thin out the "collections" on a regular basis as our priorities change. For example, about 10 years ago, I threw out an old razor I got when I was in my early 20's. Since I have only cut my beard off twice in almost 50 years, the razor I used to shave it off the first time, was special to me, but was of no value to no one else. On the other hand, I have an old bonnet or head covering similar to the type worn by the Amish or Mennonite women that belonged to my great grandmother and was worn by her in the late 1800s. I plan on sending that head covering to one of my grand-nieces so it can be kept in the family.
I have many old family heirlooms and photographs that I inherited and have always been important to me, however now that I am older, I plan on distributing them to younger family members while I am still alive and able to remember who they once belonged to. On the other hand, when it comes to more modern material items, such as my Harley's, since my wife is no longer physically able to ride a bike solo, I plan on leaving them to the "club" so future members can use them in parades or as spare bikes to ride when needed.
In the meantime, now that I am retired, my current priorities involve me spending as much time as possible touring the country on two lane highways, visiting other club members and attending rallies, as long as I am physically able to swing my leg over my bike and keep it balanced. The only unknown factor in my life revolves around health. No one knows what the future holds and as my health changes, I am sure my priorities might change again, but in the meantime, I plan on focusing on my current priories and enjoying every road trip and rally I can go to.
FTW
Today, while cleaning out a spare bedroom, in order to make room for potential guests from out of town, I realized how much that spare room and my priorities have changed over the years.
At one time, that room was used primarily as a playpen for a cat. Then it became a storage room, a bedroom for my son, then storage again, then a bedroom for my son and granddaughter and finally a storage room again. Now we are converting it into a guest room for visiting bikers from other states.
As I went through the many boxes of papers and other miscellaneous items found in that room, my mind started to drift back and forth through time and every item I ran across seemed to remind me of era's that were once priorities in my life.
Some items reminded me of a time when my top priority was my "club family", trying to support and raise a biological family, businesses I owned, hobbies my wife or I enjoyed and old friends and family members that have passed away over the years.
I am not sure if it was the fact that one of my wife's best friends passed away last night, or that my Doctor just put me on some new meds that may have a negative effect on my ability to ride a motorcycle, or the fact that my wife and I just got back from a road trip where we road almost 2, 000 miles on our bike and almost half of those miles were spend on two lane roads through the mountains, but something reminded me of how mortal we are and how much MY priorities have changed as I have gotten older.
For many years, I was a packrat. I kept everything from old magazines and newspapers to souvenirs or reminders of all the places I have traveled over the years, bike rallies I have been to and other bikers I have met.
Part of that packrat lifestyle was inherited from my mother and part of it was a result of me spending 40+ years involved in genealogy and tracing family histories, however over the years, I have come to realize that many of the "treasures" or memories that are special to me, will have no value or importance to others after I am gone, so I might as well "thin out" my keepsake collections while I am still able to choose which items should be sold or given away and which ones should be thrown in the trash and cleaning out a storage room or garage once a year is a great way to thin out the "collections" on a regular basis as our priorities change. For example, about 10 years ago, I threw out an old razor I got when I was in my early 20's. Since I have only cut my beard off twice in almost 50 years, the razor I used to shave it off the first time, was special to me, but was of no value to no one else. On the other hand, I have an old bonnet or head covering similar to the type worn by the Amish or Mennonite women that belonged to my great grandmother and was worn by her in the late 1800s. I plan on sending that head covering to one of my grand-nieces so it can be kept in the family.
I have many old family heirlooms and photographs that I inherited and have always been important to me, however now that I am older, I plan on distributing them to younger family members while I am still alive and able to remember who they once belonged to. On the other hand, when it comes to more modern material items, such as my Harley's, since my wife is no longer physically able to ride a bike solo, I plan on leaving them to the "club" so future members can use them in parades or as spare bikes to ride when needed.
In the meantime, now that I am retired, my current priorities involve me spending as much time as possible touring the country on two lane highways, visiting other club members and attending rallies, as long as I am physically able to swing my leg over my bike and keep it balanced. The only unknown factor in my life revolves around health. No one knows what the future holds and as my health changes, I am sure my priorities might change again, but in the meantime, I plan on focusing on my current priories and enjoying every road trip and rally I can go to.
FTW
