Freezing cold springtime

Dear Bloggers,


It has been more than 50 years since temperatures were this cold this late in the winterseason in The Netherlands, but here we go again. Temperatures near zero for what many with me are hoping will be the last time this spring.

“I’m definitely tired of it,” I hear one of my passengers say when he hops on the bus, and I see a woman looking cold and beaten by the weather as she went jogging in the pooring rain and hailstone showers, and she didn’t expect this severe weather untill the end of the year, when temperatures start to edge a bit closer to normal.

The normal high temperature for late April is around 15 to 18 degrees, and the normal low is 7 to 10 degrees Celcius which most of Holland likely won’t even see as a high until early next week. The average temperature this time of year is 10 to 17 degrees.

However, temperatures won’t get anywhere near the 10 this week. The highest temperature in the forecast is Sunday’s high of 16 degrees. The closest we’ll get to 20 is Monday’s forecast high of 17.

Temperatures overnight dipped as low as -1 degree at the local weatherstation here early last Wednesday morning. That’s just shy of the coldest April. 20 on record, when it was 1 below zero in 1963.

Although temperatures did not get below zero as expected, subzero temperatures remained a possibility. No one held out much hope that springlike weather will arrive “on schedule” with the arrival of spring in less than a month.

On route I see a man walking his chocolate Labrador retriever, who makes the walks necessary, although the man is wearing a winterjacket and hat and scarf he looks pretty cold he probably will make his daily walk a bit shorter, and will walk more briskly.

In the case of a 48 year old professional bus driver which would be me.in this case. I see a lot of people being sick or having the sniffles, although it is not abnormal but you feel that they are all waiting for the beautiful Sunny springweather, normally they would go by bike enjoying the Sun. The bus has to do it's route. no matter what the weather. Opening the front door in bitter cold is not the most fun thing to do.

Yet another man on the bus, said the weather has been so cold so many times, “I”m getting used to it. … I actually enjoy the cold weather now.”
Snow is not that bad, although the rain is crap but the cold is fine. You just put your winter hat on and your gloves. And just when I thought everyone was sick of winter.

The extreme cold this year has been taking a toll on homeowners’ wallets, too. As the heating has to stay on longer

“No question this has been a very tough winter for many gas and oil consumers.”

I hope that we are getting nice and sunny weather soon. People will cheer up again and my life on the commuter bus a little easier. I will have time to look around me and enjoy the beauty of nature.

Let the Sun shine.........Let the Sun shine.......

The Old Sailor,

Bucket lists why should you wait?

Dear Bloggers,

This time I am writing about the need of bucket-lists and why do many people wait to do these challenges until they are in their last weeks of their lives. You should be doing these things as soon as you are able to fix the things that you want to do the most.

Bucket Lists are all the rage, 10 things to do before you are twenty, 15 books to read before you start university, 8 foods to try before you die. There are many items that crop up time and again, swim with dolphins, climb a mountain, write a book. But what if you spend more time compiling these lists than actually completing the challenges? And are you completing them because they really resonate with you, or because you want to take a selfie to commemorate?

One sure fine way to find out what the really important accomplishments in life are, is to ask the people who are coming to the end of theirs. That is exactly what keeps my mind going. Why is it all of a sudden so important to get these list completed. I wander if they have really lived life when everything was still normal, I can not imagine that you did not fulfill your dreams at least the ones that you can afford.

There is something so profound in the themes that came up in my mind and again. It highlights the importance of living each day fully. Strangely enough swimming with dolphins didn’t come up in my brain, although that’s not to say you should set this goal aside if it is important to you. This is what would pop up in my mind but okay I am not the average guy.

“I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.”

This is what I think the most common regret of all. When people realize that their life is almost over and look back clearly on it, it is easy to see how many dreams have gone unfulfilled. Most people had not honoured even a half of their dreams and had to die knowing that it was due to choices they had made, or not made. Health brings a freedom very few realize, until they no longer have it.” When I was wearing a younger man's clothes I travelled a great part of the world and in a later stage of life I started sailing (to get rid of a traumatic impact on my life.)

“I wish I hadn’t worked so hard.”

This is something that many males with me would have on their minds. They missed their children’s youth and their partner’s companionship. Women also might have this regret, but as most of them only work part time as they take care of the kids as well, many of the females that I know are not being breadwinners. If you get sick you start realizing all kinds of things. And i personally regretted spending so much of their lives on the treadmill of a work existence.” I wouldn't have missed the years that I have sailed but somehow there are some pieces missing.

“I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings.”

Many people suppress their feelings in order to keep peace with others. As a result, they settle for a mediocre existence and never became who they were truly capable of becoming. Many developed illnesses relating to the bitterness and resentment they carried as a result.” Bitterness is not the way to live your life. I keep somethings inside as I am a man but I am pretty open if it comes to issues. And I am speaking myself out.

“I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.”

Often you won''t truly realize the full benefits of good old friends until you are in your dying weeks and it is not always possible to track them down at that moment. Many have become so caught up in their own lives that they had let golden friendships slip by over the years. There will be many deep regrets, I guess, about not giving friendships the time and effort that they deserve.

"I wish that I had let myself be happier.”

This is a surprisingly common one. Many do not realize until the end that happiness is a choice. They are stuck in old patterns and habits. The so-called ‘comfort’ of familiarity overflowed into their emotions, as well as their physical lives. Fear of change makes them pretending to others, and to their selves, that they are so content, when deep within, they are longing to laugh properly and have silliness in their life again.” It makes me happy that I do quite a lot of silly things.

What are your thoughts? Do you live life without regrets? What is on your bucket list? If you want to something bad enough, whether it’s starting a business or running a marathon or traveling abroad, you should try to get it done as early as possible in your life. You will have those memories and that experience within you for the rest of your life.

It’s never too late to tackle your bucket-list dreams, or to recognize that your list will grow the more you grow, and the more you learn about the world.

But, when you also give these dreams a sense of urgency and don’t put them off until "the stars are aligned," you’ll be amazed at how much life you can fit into your years.

The Old Sailor,