After two long weeks of swimming bootcamp, Stink still refuses to open his eyes in the water. His teacher even tried giving him a pair of goggles. No dice.
Teacher: "Stink - you are swimming in the dark. Doesn't that bother you?"
Stink: "No. I'll open them when I'm five."
Teacher: "Oh, no! That will be too late!"
Stink: "I can wait."
I had to admire his defiance. No amount of coaching, encouragement, or bribery was going to get that kid to budge. But it did get me thinking about my own form of swimming through life. I can paddle and kick and sweat and pound until I'm blue in the face, but if my eyes are shut, what the hell difference is it going to make?
And so, I'm opening my eyes more and more these days and figuring out what I love the most. Perhaps I'll drop some activities and join some new ones. Perhaps I'll get a new set of businesscards. Perhaps I'll try on a new haircut for kicks and giggles. All I know is that I'm ready to take off the floaties and start diving in.
Eyes open.
How about you?
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10 comments:
I think I need my floaties for a little bit longer...but I am keeping my eyes open.
Go dive, go!
I've been doing this in baby steps. Learning what I can handle, what I love, getting over the fear of trying. Come on in, the water's fine!
Now that I'm older, I want my floaties back! But I'll keep my eyes open.
I'M WITH YA!
Guess who just spent a couple of hours (on her birthday) catching up?? Good grief I've missed ya.
XXOO!!
Thanks for visiting my blog. It led me here and it is always nice to meet someone new! I read this post (and then several more) and love your writing! I'll definitely be back for more!
It is always a challenge having a kid who is different. But a good sense of humor really helps! And I'm afraid the last couple of things I've written have dealt a lot with the challenges and not the successes...but there are plenty of great things, as well!
Liv - Your comment made me smile. And this is of no consequence, but I love your name.
Maggie - You took the words out of my mouth. Hard to do since I never shut up.
Pam - I owe you an email. Look for it soon.
Teri - Welcome back to the world of cyberspace. It's not like you ever really left. You know that.
Em - Nice to have you on board. I look forward to reading more of your stuff.
It's okay to swim with ones eyes closed until the day one runs smack-dab into a wall...which will happen to Stink. Eyes will open, head will throb, but by golly he'll do it on his own terms. I have one of those and he's always been independent. To squelch that in a child like that is a crime. Glad to hear you let him be. It's the only way to go, unless you don't want to find out what & who he was meant to be. I chose to find out, and boy am I glad. Cece
I like Cece's comment. True.
As for me, I need one floaty, my glasses or contacts, and a glass of viognier. Perhaps the viognier can wait till apres swim...
In all seriousness--rare for me--I love the food for thought. I'll let it sit for a bit and get back to you. I may have an epiphany, or I may just want another glass of wine. :P
Anon - A comment I agree with you on! Thanks for checking in as always.
Gretchen - Can't wait to hear about your epiphany.
Okay...I got it. I love God the most. Yep. I do. So...to put the pedal to the metal, so to speak, I'm gonna love my 15 minute scheduling tool (something I developed long ago for my quasi-ocd-add-spd self), so that I can make time for Him. I find that when I'm focused on Him, I am doing all the things I love, in the actual order I would prioritize them in. Sounds corny, perhaps, but there you are...before the first cup of coffee even...
Some of the things I'm looking forward to: quilting, nails (done by self), baths, and scrapbooking. Also, reading--before 10 p.m. where I reread the same sentence before nodding off.
Okay, my ramble is through.
Really.
No. Really. :)
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