SIgn-O-the-Times

Some things in life are more fascinating than you can ever imagine. Take getting older for example: yes, I know that it stinks on many levels (my hearing is getting worse, my eyes aren't any better, I have to work at not getting too bloated, etc.), but then you get to encounter parts of your life from a completely different perspective. For example, my middle daughter recently graduated from high school. Now in my head high school graduation is something that I participated in, seeming just a few years ago. To actually see it (again...as my oldest graduated four years ago) is an almost out-of-body experience.

Perspective, yes that's the right word for it all. Getting older isn't so much about physical changes as it is about mental changes. You get to see the world not only from the vantage point of a child, but now you get to see it from the vantage point of an adult. You see the details that you missed the first time around when it comes to something like a graduation. You begin to appreciate all over again just how big a deal, how monumental a change, something like this represents.

I don't necessarily envy my middle daughter as she starts this next phase of her life. Again, I lived that once, and although there probably are things I would do differently, in totality those things worked out okay. Besides, now it's her turn. Whatever path she chooses will be her path, not mine. I get to have that perspective though, which is pretty cool. The trick is to try and turn this perspective into something useful, like "good advice", which I'm not necessarily sure I am up to, by the way. The good news here though is that when I graduated from high school (all those years ago), I wasn't sure I was up to that challenge either, but yet I managed. I'm hoping that life repeats.