My son graduated from pre school last night. My wife and I could not have been more proud of him. Little Ayden, once a nervous little man enrolled in day care and now a child poised and ready to read and write. His eye swelled up with pride during the event. He was on stage with friends. At a few points during the ceremony, in his cap and gown, he peered down at his parents. His bright eyes alive with joy an innocence. He looked like he understood his place in the world and even had an inking as to how the near future was a going to work. When he looked at me and Tara, as our eyes locked, we had the feeling that his youthful energy was burning right through our own souls. Words were not spoken but somehow a message was sent and received. It was an amazing moment.
Just as it seems Ayden now has a bit more of a clue as to how life will work, I think we as parent have less. The cycles of life--childhood and teenage years, the 20s and now the 30 somethings--all come with benefits and tragedies. Each passing moment is just one page in a chapter. Each chapter is a section of book. We don't know the ending and often forget the beginning. There are times we are reading that book of life and just, page by page, stop paying attention to what we are even seeing. When the book comes time to end, we forget everything that happened because we were too busy on peripheral devices or dividing time between sets of activities that never mattered to begin with.
And that is why last night was momentous for me. Without getting involved too heavily with the tears and details, it was a moving ceremony. I cried at how time passed but had tears of joy when I saw Ayden running and playing with friends. Creating memories. Writing his book.
When you are young, you play and pay attention to the book you're in. Every page matters. As we grow, others tell us that our books are not worth anything. Their pages matter more, we start to believe. We often forget the vibrancy we had in youth. By adulthood, acting like a child (in the good ways) is frowned on. We start to take ourselves very, very seriously. To our own demise.
Be young.
Think young
Stop ACTING your age an start being you.
And enjoy each moment. Each page. Each chapter. Your book will one day and someone will review it. Don't be a bad read.
Act like a child. Like Ayden and is friends. Get a fire in your eye and passion--really, not work related either--and burn the world with the fire of life.
