{"id":642,"date":"2026-08-07T21:36:15","date_gmt":"2026-08-07T21:36:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jonesingforthejourney.com\/journal\/?p=642"},"modified":"2026-09-30T21:39:22","modified_gmt":"2026-09-30T21:39:22","slug":"someday-is-not-a-date-on-the-calendar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jonesingforthejourney.com\/journal\/someday-is-not-a-date-on-the-calendar\/","title":{"rendered":"Someday Is Not a Date on the Calendar"},"content":{"rendered":"

The danger of waiting for life to finally become convenient.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n

I Used to Think \u201cSomeday\u201d Was a Plan<\/h2>\n\n

\n Someday we’ll travel more.\n <\/p>\n\n

\n Someday we’ll slow down.\n <\/p>\n\n

\n Someday we’ll finally take that trip.\n <\/p>\n\n

\n Someday we’ll have the freedom to do the things we’ve been talking about\n for years.\n <\/p>\n\n

\n I’ve said versions of those sentences more times than I can count.\n <\/p>\n\n

\n Maybe you have too.\n <\/p>\n\n

\n The strange thing about someday is that it sounds responsible.\n <\/p>\n\n

\n Finish the work first.\n <\/p>\n\n

\n Save a little more.\n <\/p>\n\n

\n Get through this busy season.\n <\/p>\n\n

\n Wait until the timing is better.\n <\/p>\n\n

\n Then we’ll live.\n <\/p>\n\n\n

\n

\n But someday has never appeared on a calendar.<\/strong>\n <\/p>\n <\/blockquote>\n\n\n

There Is Always a Reason to Wait<\/h2>\n\n

\n That’s what makes postponing life so easy.\n <\/p>\n\n

\n There is almost always a reasonable argument for waiting.\n <\/p>\n\n

\n Another obligation.\n <\/p>\n\n

\n Another expense.\n <\/p>\n\n

\n Another project.\n <\/p>\n\n

\n Another year before retirement.\n <\/p>\n\n

\n Another point at which life will supposedly become simpler.\n <\/p>\n\n

\n Sue and I weren’t doing anything unusual.\n <\/p>\n\n

\n We were doing what people do.\n <\/p>\n\n

\n Working.\n <\/p>\n\n

\n Raising a family.\n <\/p>\n\n

\n Taking care of responsibilities.\n <\/p>\n\n

\n Planning for a future we assumed would be there when we were finally\n ready for it.\n <\/p>\n\n\n

Then the Future Became Much Harder to Take for Granted<\/h2>\n\n

\n Cancer didn’t teach me that life is uncertain.\n <\/p>\n\n

\n I already knew that.\n <\/p>\n\n

\n We all know it.\n <\/p>\n\n

\n Cancer simply made it much harder for me to keep behaving as though\n time were unlimited.\n <\/p>\n\n

\n That’s different.\n <\/p>\n\n

\n Knowing something intellectually and feeling it in your bones are not\n the same thing.\n <\/p>\n\n

\n I don’t think the answer is to become reckless.\n <\/p>\n\n

\n Responsibilities still matter.\n <\/p>\n\n

\n Planning still matters.\n <\/p>\n\n

\n Saving still matters.\n <\/p>\n\n

\n Tomorrow still matters.\n <\/p>\n\n

\n But so does today.\n <\/p>\n\n\n

\n\n

\n Roadside Reflection\n <\/p>\n\n

\n \n Preparing for tomorrow should not require postponing everything\n that makes today worth living.\n <\/strong>\n <\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n\n\n

Maybe \u201cSomeday\u201d Needs a Date<\/h2>\n\n

\n I’ve started thinking about that differently.\n <\/p>\n\n

\n Maybe the trip can’t happen this year.\n <\/p>\n\n

\n Put it on next year’s calendar.\n <\/p>\n\n

\n Maybe you can’t make the giant change yet.\n <\/p>\n\n

\n Make the smaller one.\n <\/p>\n\n

\n Maybe you can’t take the three-week adventure.\n <\/p>\n\n

\n Take the weekend.\n <\/p>\n\n

\n Maybe retirement is still years away.\n <\/p>\n\n

\n That doesn’t mean every meaningful part of your life has to wait for it.\n <\/p>\n\n

\n The point isn’t to pretend tomorrow doesn’t exist.\n <\/p>\n\n

\n It’s to stop acting as though today is simply the waiting room for it.\n <\/p>\n\n\n

I’m Still a Planner<\/h2>\n\n

\n Cancer didn’t suddenly turn me into someone who throws the map out the window.\n <\/p>\n\n

\n I still make plans.\n <\/p>\n\n

\n I still build spreadsheets.\n <\/p>\n\n

\n I still think about the future.\n <\/p>\n\n

\n Sue and I still have places we intend to go and things we intend to do.\n <\/p>\n\n

\n Maybe the difference now is that I respect the word\n today<\/em> a little more.\n <\/p>\n\n

\n Because someday is useful for dreaming.\n <\/p>\n\n

\n But eventually, a dream needs a date.\n <\/p>\n\n\n

\n

\n \n Don’t stop planning for someday.\n Just make sure you’re living something today.\n <\/strong>\n <\/p>\n <\/blockquote>\n\n\n

\n And So\u2026The Adventure Continues.<\/strong>\n <\/p>\n\n<\/article>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For years, \u201csomeday\u201d sounded responsible. Someday we would travel. Someday we would have more time. Someday we would do the things we kept postponing. Then life reminded me of something uncomfortable: someday has never appeared on a calendar.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":647,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_wp_convertkit_post_meta":{"form":"-1","landing_page":"0","tag":"0","restrict_content":"0"},"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-642","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-roadside-reflections"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonesingforthejourney.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/642","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonesingforthejourney.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonesingforthejourney.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jonesingforthejourney.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jonesingforthejourney.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=642"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/jonesingforthejourney.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/642\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":648,"href":"https:\/\/jonesingforthejourney.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/642\/revisions\/648"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jonesingforthejourney.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/647"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonesingforthejourney.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=642"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jonesingforthejourney.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=642"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jonesingforthejourney.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=642"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}