What's Next?

The past few days, as we've been getting ready for school, my 3-year old daughter has asked me, "Dad, what are we doing?"

"Getting dressed," I reply.

"Where are we going?" she asks.

"School."

"What's next?"

"Home."

"What's next?"

"Dinner."

"What's next?"

"Story."

"What's next?"

"Night night."

"What's next?"

----

Earlier today I was in one of my labs, supposed to be fixing one thing but stubmling across two other things that needed to be touched up. And of course, I didn't finish. "What's next?" jumped into my head. What do I need to remember to do the next time I return to that lab? What else was on my daily schedule keeping me from finishing the task at hand? What did I need to do the rest of the week? What's the next big project, the next deadline, the next thing that I dive into. What's next? Such a loaded question. Maybe not even the right one to ask, at least not all the time. Unless you're three years old. Then, it's perfectly fine.