How long is soon?

 What does soon mean then? 

In Malawi if you say now, it's an unknown amount of time, if you say now now, it's now. 

In the NHS when you say soon, it could be anything from a week to a month to more. An endless amount of obviously not now but when, running around my head. 

I'd quite like a before or after Christmas answer. 

My first brain tumour I was given the choice of before or after Christmas and I chose after so I had the operation in January 2000. As I sat on the sofa with my sister on the 31st of December 1999 we didn't feel like that was really the right choice. Party over, oops out of time. That's how it felt. It felt frightening. It felt unknown and it felt far away. 

It always will when my first real experience of VHL was my brother's routine operation not going to plan. 

This robot better be good.