‘Tomorrow’ is an illusion, a myth!

Not that it was an emergency of sorts, but we like to pace ourselves and finally managed to squeeze in a day to get our passports renewed. There are many places where it can be done, and of course, online, which, at our age, is like learning to speak the languages of Jupiter and Mars. Anyway, our go-to place was MBK Center, where we’re very familiar because of hubby dear’s passion for the latest mobiles, which doesn’t mean he gets to change one for a better model every time we go. One doubts if he utilised even 1/100th of the functions on his earliest Nokia, the predecessor that ushered in tons and tons of its avatars.

The renewal process is so efficient and streamlined that it took barely 30 minutes for both of us to be done, including being allowed to retake the mugshots till we were satisfied, which isn’t quite possible, what with the furrows and the uncomely, ageing, dark patches. Then, onto the best part: lunch, the real reason why we’d chosen MBK. It’s for the perks of a huge spread of freshly-cooked, yummy phads and kaengs, stir-fries and curries, in the vegetarian stall up on the 6th floor food court.

We were especially looking forward to our recent favourites; the mouth-watering koey-teow-ped, a noodle soup with just a hint of the 5-spices phalo, served piping hot with mock-duck meat and assorted veggies. And an even tastier discovery is lad-na, but instead of choosing the traditional broad, or thin, or mee noodles, I choose fried yellow, bamee noodles, which are then topped with freshly-made cornstarch slurry of just the perfect consistency with plenty of fresh vegetables for just THB 70. There is also the option of getting plant-based meat added on for an extra THB 10!

That morning, we were, as usual, super early, reaching the spacious passport depot on the 5th floor of MBK. Being operational seven days of the week, there weren’t more than a handful of people before us at the window, where we presented our Thai Buttr-Pracham-Tua and our existing passport; after which we were asked if we’d like it to be renewed for a period of five years or 10. The cost difference was minimal, and it was a simple question, needing a one-word reply. But we paused and turned to look at each other; to us, it was loaded with possibilities and probabilities.

The probability of the five-year passport outlasting us is already quite high, with me already 74 and hubby dear, 77! So, to assume that we’d be around beyond the 10-year expiry date was being way too unrealistically optimistic. So, we requested a five-year extension, silently wondering if that too wasn’t expecting too much in terms of time, in which we could hope to retain enough of both our physical and mental faculties to travel independently and unassisted. Whether it be near or far, the trip is only enjoyable if one is somewhat travel-worthy and lucky enough to go with someone who both anticipates and understands one’s limitations and vice versa!

We, of course, harbour a faint hope of a tomorrow in which we’ll attend any one of our grandchildren’s graduations, even though it’ll mean sitting crammed up in long flights to reach them. But the harsh reality is that there is no such thing as a ‘tomorrow’! Yes, there’s yesteryear and yesterday(s), laden with their fair share of memories, both beautiful and painful. But there can be no ‘tomorrow’, though we can hope and fervently make plans towards it; it never comes.

Because when tomorrow arrives, if we wake up to it at all, it will already have become a TODAY; the only real time in which we can strive to fulfil as many dreams and wishes, in anticipation of many more tomorrows, which are not guaranteed. Accordingly, yesterday is done, tomorrow is uncertain, and only today is ours, in which we live abundantly and joyfully and let tomorrow, when and if it comes, take care of itself!