Something to Look Forward To

savoring the before of good things

You know what I’ve come to really appreciate? The before of good things.

The stretch of time between booking the trip and the morning it finally begins, when I’m planning itineraries and outfits and romanticizing everything that’s ahead. The joy of finally snagging the impossible dinner reservation, then looking forward to it once it’s on the calendar. Concert tickets sitting in your inbox months before the show, the package marked Out for Delivery, setting the table before friends arrive for dinner. The first warm day in March that hints at summer and everything it promises, the roses covered in tight little buds before they’ve begun to bloom. The week before a baby is born, when your whole world is about to change and you can only imagine who they’re going to be.

There’s something about the not yet that feels full of possibility, you know? Being on the precipice of something great! Even as a child, I remember this feeling. Especially as a child! The night before the first day of school, birthday eve, the countdown to summer vacation. Then of course, as I got older, there was the anticipation wrapped up in dating and falling in love. The flirtations, the what-ifs, the butterflies before the first date, obsessing over the outfit, getting ready to be picked up, imagining how the future might unfold.