a friend of mine asked me what my favorite age was, either for myself or for raising my children.
i answered : IN BETWEEN
Because i love the process of growth. see, its not so much the plateau, the year, the ability, the freedom, the intelligence, the fun,the control or the lack of difficulty that i seek, but the process of going from one to the other.
i find it interesting that people love:
heros
overcomers
winners
successes
intimacy
romance
rags to riches
underdogs
bootstrap stories
the mighty ducks
disney movies
we love to hear the story of the one who started low, and ended high.
we dream romantic dreams of being one of “those” heros.
we long for intimacy
we value the athlete who overcame a weakness above the one with natural talent.
yet we so often live our daily life rushing thru process ourselves. impatiently rushing to the next….anything.
looking at the next step so much that we miss the one we are on.
the real beauty is not when my son was 2 or my son was 16. it is that i saw him grow from a drooling 2 foot tall being into 6 foot man who can drive.
(let’s not discuss the drooling)
the real intimacy we so long for in a marriage is not found at the level “perfect”, it is made in the giving, forgiving and the trust built through the process
we are far more grateful for our money and stuff if we can recall not having it
we grow strong through our losses when we grieve
i can recall being 18 years old, watching a soap opera and stopping to think:
maybe if i chose to stop watching
and start living more risky
i would indeed enter into the excitement i longed for.
i have never.ever.since been bored.or close to bored. or watched a soap. if life is boring, go live.
