Thoughts on leaving the house with the wrong keys

I got up early this morning, intent on writing an email, getting breakfast, and heading off to the gym. All part of my vacation week regimen, part of which was a vow to get a workout in every day. I got the first two done and headed out the door, only to find that I had the wrong keys in my pocket. You see, yesterday, in my carport cleaning activity, I had placed the keys to the shed in my pocket along with my car keys. Inadvertently, I had hung up the car keys on the hook and left my shed keys in my pocket. Then I had not gone out again last night, so the car keys remained where they hung, and the shed keys slept peacefully in my coat pocket.
That wouldn't have been much of a problem except for the fact that I had locked the door behind me on the way out. That wouldn't have been much of a problem either except for the fact that it was near 7:30 in the morning, very cold outside (it was 30 degrees, and good thing it wasn't last week when the temps hovered in the teens at night), my wife had just gotten back to sleep, and the rest were still downstairs. I would need to wake up Ann (my wife) in order to have her let me back in, which I definitely did not want to do, or I would have to wake up those who still slept in the basement.
After a few minutes of thinking it through and enjoying a nice sunrise in the process, I thought that I would call Justin, my son-in-law, who lives in the basement with my daughter Rebecca and their four kids. I got no answer when I called. I tried again. I walked around the house hoping that I'd somehow awoken them and that they would appear at the top of the stairs. I phoned again, this time leaving a voice mail. Nothing.
Fifteen minutes had gone by and I was getting colder. The beautiful colors of the sunrise were beginning to fade and I was contemplating getting a couple of sleeping bags out of the shed in order to stay warm. I still didn't want to wake up Ann.
By then I had decided that it was unlikely I would make it to the gym. I made the decision to go for a walk thinking to raise my body heat. It would be a short workout, but it would fulfill my requirement for a workout every day. The walk took about twenty minutes and by the time I made it back, Rebecca, Justin, and the kids who go to school were up and let me in. I was cold, and needed to warm up. Justin explained that his phone was turned off. Ann who woke up later told me that I could have woke her up to let me in.
It wasn't the first time I've locked myself, and I doubt it will be the last. I just chalked it up to life getting in the way of plans. I won't miss the strenuous workout all that much, and the morning was nice, even if it was brisk.

The stupendous importance of dreams and goals

I'm sitting here dreaming of winter and the inevitable snow, wondering if it will come, and if I'm going to make it through these next two and a half weeks until Christmas--and knowing that it will and I will. Part of making it through challenging times is having dreams and plans for the future. I like to have plans for the near future and distant future. Both of these provide beacons up ahead for us to strive to reach.
My near-future dream, and I'll call them goals from here on out, because they are definitely concrete and achievable and not pie in the sky wishes--include some fine Utah skiing after the first of the year, some snow shoeing, some travel and sight-seeing, even if only locally. I have a strong desire to go out into the wintry world of whiteness once we get some snow, and to see some horses standing out in the snow. Maybe near an old ranch house with a wood post fence. I like thinking of things like that, horses outside, a nice warm fire glowing in a nearby house, the smell of good, home-cooked food, kind and warm people within. I'm kind of homey and maybe a bit old-fashioned and that's what appeals to me.
Further on, my goals take me into the spring and summer months and once again enjoying the high country. I'm planning a backpacking trip in July and hoping a few of my good friends can accompany me. It's so much more enjoyable to go with a few good friends. My summer of mountain exploration will lead naturally back into the fall, and I hope to get out deer hunting again this year. It has been a few years now since I last went.
Looking at my future for years out, I also like to have plans and things to look forward to. One of those is my eventual retirement from the U.S. Postal Service. That's about ten years away. Not that I plan on sitting around once that time comes, but it will be nice to move on and follow my interests and that will be about the time I can do it. Someone once said that the key to happiness is to have many passions in life. The reason being is because if something happens and you can't pursue one of them, you have others that can keep you occupied. I am a man of many passions. If I go blind and cannot see the beautiful scenery of my mountains, I can devote more time to music listening and playing. There is always something more to do. That keeps me going.
I hope to enjoy a long life and much happiness throughout and goals with plans to get there are part of the process. Those goals, in the distant future, help us live through challenging present circumstances. So that's what I would encourage you, my readers to do--have a plan, make goals, and strive to reach them. Eleanor Roosevelt once said, "the future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams." I do.