One Thing Leads To Another: Being Patient With The Path #thTHX

This morning my son asked what he should be when he grows up. My wife told him that he would have to answer that question himself. She told him that she wants him to be whatever he wants to be. Even better, she told him she knows that he can be whatever it is he wants to be. He smiled. It’s kind of an amazing thought, isn’t it? He can be whatever he wants to be…and his mama told him so. Good stuff.

The kid is five years old, he has all kinds of exposure and influences in all directions, the world in which he lives is filled with incredible ideas and wondrous things, and here he stands with the ability to be anything he can imagine being. Totally awesome!

Later in the day one of his friend’s mothers reported to my wife that her son told her that my son told him that he was going to marry Anna (a girl in his class). My wife confronted him about it. She asked him if it was true. He told her that it’s possible but that they’re still talking about it (he and Anna). Good thing. I would argue that it’d foolish for five-year-olds to rush into marriage after just one play date. This reasonable child considers Anna a viable candidate for marriage, but knows that the notion deserves more attention on both of their parts. They’re still talking about it. A process. A choice; also awesome if you ask me.

Then, another mother of a child in my son’s class told my wife that her son is anxiously awaiting the upcoming band practice that’s schedule to occur in a few weeks in our basement. Apparently, my kindergartener has decided that he’s going to start a band. He carefully worked out who among his peer group (and their little brothers) will be playing which instruments, and then he invited them to rehearse. They plan to be ready for a show at his birthday party this summer. He’ll be on the drum set and my three year old will be the lead singer (“on the microphone”). Again…awesome!

So here we have a kid who’s now under the impression that he can do and become anything he wants, that he has choices, that those choices can be worked out in conjunction with the people in his life, that collaboratively they can make decisions, that he can gather groups together for common purposes, and that he can turn dreaming about having meaningful fun into having meaningful fun.

I’ve watched him grow for the past five or so years. I’ve never felt that I’ve had all of the answers, and I still have far more questions than I ever dreamed possible. However, today I feel really proud of the person he’s becoming. Today I feel like my wife and I are doing a darn decent job (along with the many other wonderful people who make up the village that raises my children).   We’re doing it one step at a time, with each experience building upon those that came before it, with patience for the path and faith in the core values that hold dear. Today I’m thankful for the process. Today I’m thankful for the reminder that children need guidance, support, and encouragements, and that they each blossom in their own way and at their own time.

Join me for this week’s Thankful Thursday global gratitude celebration focused on the process. Share your process story through Twitter using #thTHX. In what ways are you grateful for the journey you’re on? What have you learned along your path as a parent, a teacher, and a friend, a leader, a person? How does that learning translate into gratitude and intention regarding positive progress?

Live. Learn. Lead.

 IMG_8480

Dream Big. Work Hard. Be Well.

Post a comment

You may use the following HTML:
<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>