Moving Forward

 

Moving Forward

When Houston had an unusually arctic day, I suspected it was too cold to walk, but I put on jacket, hat and gloves and started around my usual circular track. Halfway into one lap, I turned around and took two steps back toward the car. Then I stopped and had a conversation with myself in the freezing wind. Should I turn back or should I move forward and finish the lap. The distance and effort were the same but going back felt like giving up and moving forward felt like progress.

I am a progressive.

Some see the opposite of progressive as traditional. But I love traditions. Not only the more common Christmas and Thanksgiving activities but also Groundhog Day and Bastille Day. I appreciate the Christian liturgical calendar with Advent, Lent and Easter as worship seasons.

So, for this conversation, the opposite of progression will be regression (returning to a previous reality).

I read the Facebook posts about “remember when….” with a mixture of nostalgia and gratitude. Nostalgia for memories shared with my baby boomer friends and gratitude that we have moved forward.

As a young mother I was comfortable driving a car stuffed with children in every corner like clowns in a circus. And having my baby right next to me on the passenger seat in an unsecured infant carrier was convenient. But progressive seatbelt laws mean fewer deaths on the road and the ability to say “sorry, kids, you have to buckle up – it’s the law.”

Generations of American women have made dressing for Thanksgiving. But in our family, instead of Grandma’s traditional recipe, Sydnie makes a delicious vegan dressing. And if this means I don’t have to cook the dressing, let the progress continue.

In my old Altima, I had once hit another car in my own driveway just trying to back up. My new Altima has rear camera. Now, that is progress.

And the list of norms that have become obsolete is long:

• ·       In “The Quiet Man,” John Wayne’s character (the romantic hero) spanked his wife. 
• ·       Church dinners always included several jello-based dishes featuring carrots or even Spam.
• ·       TV channel changing required getting up and turning knobs on the television.
• ·       Elementary students were required to learning “printing” then moved to “cursive.” Yes, Rochelle, I am still talking about this! My grandchildren were not required to learn both (but cursive is making a comeback.)

I am grateful for cultural progress. But I am even more grateful for the progress in changing laws and practices to make life more equitable for all. I fear, however, that we may be regressing on those items.

There is an old ballad about Betsy and Issac who packed up their covered wagon during the Gold Rush era and moved from Pike County Missouri to California. Below is one verse of a very long song.

Sweet Betsy from Pike

The terrible desert was burning and bare, 
And Isaac he shrank from the death lurkin' there,
"Dear old Pike County, I'll come back to you."
Says Betsy, "You'll go by yourself if you do."

Betsy was a progressive.

That cold morning on my walking track, I buttoned up my jacket and moved forward.

 

I began blogging on September 1, 2021 as a means of sharing thoughts with friends. I have enjoyed the experience and have learned much about myself but today is the last of these blogs, for now. Consider this the finale of SEASON ONE. I invite you to a season of re-runs in case you missed an episode. And I am in discussion with my producers (my brain and my computer) to see if there is a green light for SEASON TWO.  And I invite your comments through email: nanasbitsandpieces@gmail.com.

But for now, in a time when our world feels regressive, I will explore opportunities where I can be part of progress.

C. S. Lewis said, “It is not your business to succeed, but to do right; when you have done so, the rest lies with God.”

I hope you will join me in trying “to do right."