It's been a very long time since I had a tangible goal in my head. Moving to Florida and getting my captains license again has become that goal, it's taking root in my mind and I can already feel the wheels starting to spin. Like a locomotive lost in the weeds for years and suddenly pressed back into service. Rusty, squeaky, a little stiff in spots, but still serviceable.

Having a solid, set goal helps me so much. It gives me something to hold in my mind, something to think about. An idea with some substance to it. Everything else builds off of that. It helps with my motivation. I have to do A and B to get to C.

In two years things may have completely changed. My life seems to have a way of doing that. Someone once asked me if I planned my future and I didn't have an answer, not a decent one. It has occurred to me that planning ones future is the realm of fools. There is no way to know what the future will hold. According to some the world is going to end in December, there goes the future.

But a goal for me is like taking a bearing when lost in the woods. It gives me a direction to head. A path to walk instead of wandering aimlessly in circles. It's nice to have a direction to walk. I have a long list of things I need to accomplish in order to make this huge move possible.

I have got to lose weight. I have got to get my body back in some kind of condition. I have to find an income of some kind and save money. I find it so much easier to focus when I have a direction. Without one I tend to wander hither and yon, tripping gently through the light fantastic. Without focus my life becomes quite aimless and I lack the focus that many people develop naturally.

The water calls to me, like the sirens to sailors. I only hope it's not calling me to my violent end on sharp rocks. But this feels like the right thing to do, the right direction for me. It feels like a good choice. Something I should do, I need to do, I will do. Two years. 24 months. 730 days. I can do this.