A Nice Talk

I got to see a college friend yesterday who I haven't seen since my wedding.  Since I had moved from Texas to Georgia, we hadn't had an opportunity to get together all these years.  It brought back old memories as we talked a little about those days.  What was really nice, however, was the fact that we could discuss the past few years and how life is now without pause.  There was no awkward empty space that sometimes occurs when you meet up with past buddies and discover you have nothing in common anymore.  It was the rare moment that happened when I realized a friendship surpasses time and that we were able to pick up where we left off, catch up, and keep going from here.

We went to a local neighborhood park so the kids could have fun playing while we talked.  The older children played on the monkey bars and the slides most of the time while I pushed Gabriela in a swing.  We stood there talking in the cool breeze of the afternoon sun while my daughter expressed her joy at being in the great outdoors.  We reminisced a little, but then we talked about life such as it is now.

We talked about balancing life once you have children, and how it changes.  We discussed honestly how it's not always a bed of roses, but that they are worth the hard times, and they are a joy.  We spoke of how relationships change once you have them because of all the responsibilities associated with raising children.  We talked about balancing your relationships with others and not losing touch with what is important.

I think that for me, one of the most encouraging aspects of the conversation is show children truly are our education as much as we are a part of theirs.  We never stop learning.  when we take a moment to step back, we learn a great deal about ourselves and about life through them, and there is oh, so much still to learn!

That's one of the reasons I started blogging.  Sometimes I like what I learn, like the growing capacity to love.  Sometimes I don't, like the amount of patience I thought I had versus the amount I actually have.  But every day, if I look closely enough, I can learn something by looking at things through their eyes or by seeing them through the eyes of another.  I see how much they really do rely on me.  I see how much they are dependent on me to show them how to live.  I see how much their escapades are metaphors for the important matters of life.