I had a somewhat intimate conversation with a new acquaintance a while back. She is four years shy of retirement. At 56 she is already a widow for about 16 years.
I learned the she wanted so much to travel something that until now is a dream she is no longer sure she could do.
Her late husband was an engineer by profession and was working abroad. Back when they were younger they thought they have so much time to do the things they most wanted in life. They thought they have a lifetime ahead of them to go around the country and visit foreign lands. So they concentrated on raising the kids and building a house first. Until one time the husband came home sick.
She so much regretted that she has no memories of the both of them walking along a stretch of some exotic beach or marveling at the larger than life statue of the Golden Buddha or perhaps, whiling away the time at some sidewalk café and listening to some Parisians chatter in the background.
Looking back she said they could have enjoyed even just a few travels while raising the kids. They could have gotten a smaller house or sent the kids to less expensive schools. As it happened the husband had to toil abroad much longer and they had to forgo a lot of things they had wanted to do together.
I had a feeling while listening to her of that longing within. A sort of anguish from something unfulfilled. It is my fervent hope that somehow she could find a way to still live the dream she kept buried under the piles of daily concerns.
