My mom used to say, 'This is the Year, David Babich'. For some reason I didn't respond excitedly to this lovely wish. I had resistance to it. I've been thinking about why that is.
One possibility: I didn't agree with the premise of it - that some big life changing thing would happen that year. I rebelled against life goals being contained and defined by a calendar and even the idea of 'arriving' at some intangible point at which I could say, "I've made it."
I do think that I "made it" when I had the impulse in 1989, already a Junior in college, to become a Music Major. I listened intently to my impulse, picked up the phone (yes, in a phone booth) and called my parents to tell them of my epiphany. They were as supportive of my choice as they have always been, which I am so appreciative of.
Maybe I didn't respond to my mom's encouragement because I somehow knew that I wasn't ready for it be The Year. I didn't think it could be The Year because I really wasn't clear on what it was I even wanted, let alone believe I could have it or know how I would get there.
Or maybe I was just interpreting the phrase incorrectly. Why my mom must have meant, "This is the year you will.....Become rich, find the love of your life, land a series regular role"! Hmm, maybe I will go find the nearest phone booth and ask her what she meant, but now in my late, late, late, late, late 40's I've developed my own set of definitions of what it means for it to be THE YEAR. Feel free to use any of these that work for you!
Here goes:
