The Main Thing

No retrospective this year, nor a hopeful look forward with grand dreams and visions of what might be.  Sorry, I'm just not in that state of mind this time around.  Maybe its the pandemic, or maybe our impending extinction weighs heavily on my soul.  Who knows.  The important thing is to keep the main thing the main thing, even with our hobbies.

"Some folks build a railroad systematically; some folks don't.  The main thing is, enjoy it."

- Malcolm Furlow.

I'm sure glad I have my health, my family, a roof over our heads and loving, furry companions.  But I'm also glad I have a terrific hobby and this platform from which I can share it.  More to the point of Malcolm's quote, I have noticed a shift in how I enjoy this hobby.  In years past, both at work and at leisure, I've been happy to have deadlines, goals and challenges.  But recently I've decided I'd rather not, at least not grand, far-reaching goals.  At the moment I'm happier with vague ideas of what I might want to do, perhaps.

500 pieces of enjoyment, a.k.a. FUN!

Oh, there are still deadlines in my life, and daily tasks that need doing, and I derive great satisfaction from a cleaned kitchen, folded laundry and vacuumed carpet.  But with the challenges we all face in the world today and the restrictions in place to try and keep us safe, I don't see the need for any additional burden.  

Will I continue to build my railroad systematically?  Not for the time being.  A few short years ago I had great hopes of following a schedule and making rapid progress, yada yada yada.  That fell by the wayside, but it was still helpful to have the goals and targets and stick to the sequence I had laid out in the schedule.  That just isn't fun anymore.  

So if there's one resolution for 2022 it's this: enjoy building the railroad.  That's the main thing.