It's weird; life. Time and age and all those things that are so very, very present in the world, so very important. Always moving, always changing, but always there. And yet how easy it is to forget.
I just had my 21st birthday. I'm an official adult. Time has gone by so quickly, and I don't feel like I should be a legal adult. I guess I'm competent enough. But still. On my birthday I had a strong desire to eat ice cream for breakfast, jump on my bed, and watch Chip and Dale: Rescue Rangers. So much for growing up. Life moves on, but I feel rather left behind.
And just today, not even a week after my birthday and all these rubbish 'getting old, coming of age' thoughts, I became an aunt! My first nephew (no nieces yet). Just as I'm thinking "where'd my childhood go?" A little kid pops in and gets to start the journey himself.
Blows me away. I'm not sure I can express it.
-
Sort of... like a forest. If you've ever seen a brand new forest, or an artificial or well-logged one, it's not nearly as impressive or majestic as one that's been around for a long time. The really great forests have huge, ancient trees, that have been there for a long time. But there are also a lot of medium and small trees. And thousands of ivy, vines, bushes, moss, shoots, etc. The growth and diversity is everywhere.
And they build on each other, giving to each other. They cycle through, growing, living their life, moving on. They seem so willing to share: the moss under the rocks and on the tree bark, ivy and vines climbing up and twisting around every available, space bushes upon bushes growing up, sideways, over and under. They all have some place they can fit, searching for those stray shafts of sunlight. When a tree or plant dies, it drops back into the ground, where the next tree or plant comes along and uses those necessary nourishment and vitamins to grow.
I'd like to think I'm a fair-sized tree in the forest. I've worked and fought for a strong place with sunlight. And maybe, as I live and grow and cycle through seasons, I can provide leaves and support and shelter for others. I'd like to give birds a rest in my branches, moss and ivy a trunk upon which to grow, little animals and budding flowers shelter from harsh weather. Maybe I can share and protect and boost that little nephew of mine as he experiences this amazing world of ours.
And now I feel ostentatiously sentimental. Still....
I just had my 21st birthday. I'm an official adult. Time has gone by so quickly, and I don't feel like I should be a legal adult. I guess I'm competent enough. But still. On my birthday I had a strong desire to eat ice cream for breakfast, jump on my bed, and watch Chip and Dale: Rescue Rangers. So much for growing up. Life moves on, but I feel rather left behind.
"Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional."
-Chili Davis
-Chili Davis
And just today, not even a week after my birthday and all these rubbish 'getting old, coming of age' thoughts, I became an aunt! My first nephew (no nieces yet). Just as I'm thinking "where'd my childhood go?" A little kid pops in and gets to start the journey himself.
Blows me away. I'm not sure I can express it.
-
Sort of... like a forest. If you've ever seen a brand new forest, or an artificial or well-logged one, it's not nearly as impressive or majestic as one that's been around for a long time. The really great forests have huge, ancient trees, that have been there for a long time. But there are also a lot of medium and small trees. And thousands of ivy, vines, bushes, moss, shoots, etc. The growth and diversity is everywhere.
And they build on each other, giving to each other. They cycle through, growing, living their life, moving on. They seem so willing to share: the moss under the rocks and on the tree bark, ivy and vines climbing up and twisting around every available, space bushes upon bushes growing up, sideways, over and under. They all have some place they can fit, searching for those stray shafts of sunlight. When a tree or plant dies, it drops back into the ground, where the next tree or plant comes along and uses those necessary nourishment and vitamins to grow.
I'd like to think I'm a fair-sized tree in the forest. I've worked and fought for a strong place with sunlight. And maybe, as I live and grow and cycle through seasons, I can provide leaves and support and shelter for others. I'd like to give birds a rest in my branches, moss and ivy a trunk upon which to grow, little animals and budding flowers shelter from harsh weather. Maybe I can share and protect and boost that little nephew of mine as he experiences this amazing world of ours.
And now I feel ostentatiously sentimental. Still....
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