Wagon, Training: Pre-, Post- Pandemic Perennial Parade: Metaphorically Speaking.

All Aboard! Forward Ho! Rites of Passage: It sure seems so, with so many of us every single year, come rain or shine, south, north, east, or west, red/blue state, states of confusion...finally once again resolving...

Either/Or: Resolving to hitch up our wagon for the journey forward as in a wagon train, or prepping to catch, board a train, to here or there...Who hasn't grown up near a train track, heard the distant whistle and wondered where it's bound? For those few who can't relate, I'm pretty certain you either pulled or were pulled around in a wagon...which in turn was probably red...or blue. Either/or. And who hasn't made a resolution any time during the year to start or stop a life habit, or even two. Either/or, even  both. Today's post is what happens when these adult level resolutions combine with child reverie, how the two converge, cross track, collide even. Start/stop. Either/or. Metaphorically speaking...

A Fresh Resolve: As in "jumping on the band wagon" - a saying we've all heard and action we have all participated in, some time or another. Originating in the 19th C. when a bandwagon was a horse drawn wagon with a platform for a group of musicians that often preceded a circus parade. eventually, some 'clown' (literally) decided to invite a group of local politicians aboard, and people, lured by music, were eventually treated to a bunch of other 'clowns' pitching political speeches. Used here as a trend that many are lured by the large group that perennially make resolutions this particular time of year, when the year seems so..."New"..."Every one else is, I may as well...may as well hitch a ride..." There has, of course, been a lot of counter trending here the past few years, the "Anti-Resolutionists". Or, in plain train language, once I resolve to do/not do, I may feel like I'm "picking up steam...going full steam ahead...getting on track to at least the next station, on the way to the final destination"...Or, on the other hand...

Resolution Dissolution: As in "falling off the wagon" OUCH! "The wheels have fallen off...I've gone off track..." When you falter on your resolve, fall short of the next station, let alone the longer destination. In the days leading up to the "Temperance" movement and prohibition, a water cart was pulled by horses to moisten the dusty streets...people who were resolved to sobriety said they'd rather drink from the water wagon than accept a stiff drink, which eventually became "on the wagon" (or, on the flip side, "falling off"). In either case, you may want to...

"Hold Your Horses!" (both types of wagons being horse drawn, a coincidence?) As in "don't get too ahead of yourself". Keep your sights set on the track, road in front of you as you also think of the final destination, bringing your goals to fruition. As the mantra popularized by AA and other 12 Step groups reminds US ALL, "One Day at a Time". Or, in this case, one station, one lemonade stand...and if you do falter and fall...

Don't Lose Heart, Restart: It's no time to "circle your wagons", not time to "go off the rails!" Instead, it may be time to "paint your wagon" (as time to be on my way, get things done, get underway as the gold is running out here)...time to renovate, innovate, reinvigorate, for the "long haul". Otherwise, you may want to rotate the wheels, refrain from "kicking the tires" (OW!), currently popular among those prepping to either buy a new auto or see if it's travel ready. Yes, throughout the journey, from beginning to end, along the dusty trail, we experience 'competing drives', metaphorically, literally, and...

Musically: On this side of the tracks, representing the drive to quit, not even think of starting a resolution to change, we find Miranda Lambert (2014, "Little Red Wagon"):

"You can't ride in my little red wagon...the front seat's broken and the axle's draggin'..."

And on the other, representing the 'strength of our collective resolve', reaching way back for words of encouragement, the forever fan favorite (starting in C. 1930), chugging down the tracks, up the hill, comes..."The Little Engine That Could":

"I Think I can..."!!! 

I know You Can. Happy Trails.