October 21: Things you’d love to change about your home and why.
There’s not much I’d change about this little place, except for maybe a larger “office room” space, another decent closet… and reducing the occasional traffic noise. It would also be great if I could have the option to purchase it, but honestly, I’m not even sure I want to lock myself into another mortgage – I’m not sure this area is where I want to stay (see October 23). But for the foreseeable future, it’s just what I need.

And what I also need to do is clean out the “office space” and finish some projects.

October 22: Things you love about the city you live in.
Where I live at the moment isn’t in any particular town – it has a postal address of one small town, Colfax, yet it’s geographically located in the very tip of another. But it puts me within a few minutes of several larger towns and major highways, and that’s perfect. There’s not much to do in the few miles’ radius from my house, so I’ve adopted the two towns nearest me. One – Kernersville – has a wonderful little downtown area with lots of locally-owned shops and a fairly decent music scene (open mics, karaoke, and bands on weekends), and the other – High Point – mostly feels like a deserted ghost town in some places, except for the twice-yearly international home furnishings market, the local baseball stadium, a few good restaurants, but most importantly, my beloved weekly open mic.

And there’s this wonderful little family restaurant in Colfax where I like to go, eat unhealthy fried food, and people watch.

Because of these places, I find myself visiting Greensboro, where I grew up, much less as time goes by.

October 23: If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live?
In general terms, I’d love to find a small community where there’s a vibrant arts and music scene, where locally-owned businesses thrive, and where I’m either near the mountains and water or the coast and water. Some places that come to mind are in the NC mountains and foothills areas (Valle Crucis, Blowing Rock… basically anywhere near the Blue Ridge Parkway) and NC coastal towns (New Bern, Beaufort, and Wilmington/Southport, NC).

But if I really want to step out of my comfortable little NC box where I’ve lived all my life, I’d be curious to learn more about moving to Scotland. I know it’s probably colder and drearier than it is here, but there’s something about it that tugs on my heart everytime I see photos or videos.

I’ve been watching this guy who recently moved from the states and has settled happily in the Scottish Highlands. He also found love. Good for him! Here’s his YouTube channel…

October 24: People you’d l0ve to reconnect with.
Oh, wow. That’s a tough one. See, the thing about this one is that there are several people I’d love to reconnect with, but some of them are no longer on this earthly plane. And that fills me with regret when I think about several people I had many opportunities to do this with but, for whatever reason, didn’t. Too late now. Miss you, Mena, Pam, and Martha.

And here’s the other thing – as the years (and distance) go by, we get older, and who we were decades, or even months ago isn’t the same. Many of these people have changed so drastically from how I remember them growing up. And honestly, I believe I have too, to some degree or another. I watch them from afar via social media posts and wish them well in a “like” or a quick reply. But the fact is, our priorities change, our interests and circles of friends change, and jobs, adventure – and even love – may take us in different directions. I do miss some of my childhood neighborhood friends and would enjoy spending an afternoon in their presence, catching up on life and recalling a few of the good times we had.

And a quick game of street kickball would be kinda fun.

October 25: Where do you see yourself in one year?
Healthier, more focused (but not to the point of stress or worry), more creatively involved, and most likely – still right here in this little part of the world.

For years, I didn’t have the ability to dream positively about what my life could look like because I was so caught up in the fear and worry of it all – what if this or that happened? I never even gave myself the gift of daydreaming because it was too difficult. Also because some of the things I briefly thought about required me to believe in myself. Failing wasn’t an option, so I didn’t want to try something that might lead to failure.

But I also think that it’s important to have someone in your corner who encourages and supports your dreams – and maybe even wants to ride shotgun on some of them. I’ll grab the steering wheel, take a deep breath, look at them, smile, and say, “How difficult can this possibly be?” And then, I’ll find out.

But I need to keep looking forward. That’s where the possibility is.

So, I’ll be a little more specific here about where I see myself. This time, next year, I will have done some traveling, both in the states and across the pond. My spiritual, mental, and physical health will be the strongest they’ve been, as I’ll be within a few months of turning 60. I will have written and recorded at least one of my own songs. That book I’ve been “trying” to write for years will be in its final draft stages. And there are a few other things I see…

But I’m keeping those to myself for now.

I’d love to hear from you… any of these prompts strike a chord?