You might say I had a dream last night. Or you might say I had a thought in a dreamlike state. At any rate, an idea came to me as I lay in bed. Things often come to me that way, in the dead of night when the brain has let loose and is wandering freely. Here’s the thought. I find myself these days in a new kingdom, a new land, think of any story you know where children or any other people go through mysterious doors or some portal and find a new world. That’s me, today.

As I look back on my life, it makes sense. We were relentless movers as my father fulfilled his military obligation, and every move took us into a new land with new people and new things and new ideas, until one day I ran down a street chasing a girl and found myself in another magic land that lasted a long, long time. But now the queen of that realm is dead, and her energy that gave the world life has left and the citizens who paid her allegiance are dispersing from age and disease themselves. And while I can still see them and think of them, a new universe has opened up for me full of new citizens, bright lights, music, travel, and outdoor adventures.

I’m in that stage of discovery where I can embrace the new world or continue to live in the old world. But it’s pretty obvious to me I’m heading to the new world. Old habits are hard to break. There are mysteries to unravel, relationships to build, lessons to be learned, and experiences to be had. I’m ready for them. Luckily, I can still have a bit of my old world; some of the people from there are joining me in this new world. It makes sense, after all, I’ve never forgotten all the other worlds I’ve visited and why should I forget my most recent world. It was important to me. The new kingdom doesn’t have a name yet, that’s still to be discovered, but I can tell you, this land has magic.

John W. Wilson is the author of The Long Goodbye: A Caregiver's Tale