OK, so I was going to write about something different today but changed my mind just a few moments ago. Today was a strange day. Today was a fantastic day and at the same time a sad day. Bittersweet may be an appropriate word. Today was my daughter’s first day of Kindergarten.
If you don’t have kids you won’t be able to fully understand the gravity of moments like this in your children’s lives but I think you can still appreciate the significance of them. Their first birthday, their steps, their first words, their first time peeing on you; these are all moments in life that are fixed in time and space and memory. I know, as my kids get older, there will be many more “firsts” to experience. First report cards, first school dances, first dates, first sleepovers, and a billion others. But why are these so significant to us?
We all have moments and experiences that seem more significant than others. I think that nine times out of ten these moments are “firsts.” If you’ve never had sex before you are called a virgin. Why do we have a name for this? Because there is something special about first time experiences. In our culture, the word virgin is now applied to all sorts of scenarios. You can be a sky diving virgin, or a bungee-virgin, or a million other types of virgins. So these, “firsts,” have a special weight and significance. But, once again, why?
For me, I think it’s because it reminds me that I’m trapped in forward moving, linear time. I can’t rewind my life and re-edit the moments in my life I’d like to change. I am stuck dealing with my choices, and even the choices of others, in the here and now. I became much more aware of this as I kissed my daughter good-bye when dropping her off for school for the first time. Did I do enough to prepare her for this? Could I have done more? What if they teach her things that our values as a family don’t agree with? These questions, and several others, jumped in my mind as I walked away from her classroom.
The idea that we are trapped in forward moving, linear time is important for us to remember so I think that is way God gives us these reminders. Why is it important? Well, if we have to deal with out choices in the here and now then it is that much more important to make the right ones. All the questions I asked myself after having dropped Felicia off were about what I had and hadn’t done. Did I make sure she was ready for this? Because we only get one shot at it. Life doesn’t have an eraser to get rid of our mistakes nor does it have whiteout to cover them up. No, we must deal, here and now with the choices we make and so, when moments like I had today come, we are forced to examine those choices more closely.
If you don’t have kids you won’t be able to fully understand the gravity of moments like this in your children’s lives but I think you can still appreciate the significance of them. Their first birthday, their steps, their first words, their first time peeing on you; these are all moments in life that are fixed in time and space and memory. I know, as my kids get older, there will be many more “firsts” to experience. First report cards, first school dances, first dates, first sleepovers, and a billion others. But why are these so significant to us?
We all have moments and experiences that seem more significant than others. I think that nine times out of ten these moments are “firsts.” If you’ve never had sex before you are called a virgin. Why do we have a name for this? Because there is something special about first time experiences. In our culture, the word virgin is now applied to all sorts of scenarios. You can be a sky diving virgin, or a bungee-virgin, or a million other types of virgins. So these, “firsts,” have a special weight and significance. But, once again, why?
For me, I think it’s because it reminds me that I’m trapped in forward moving, linear time. I can’t rewind my life and re-edit the moments in my life I’d like to change. I am stuck dealing with my choices, and even the choices of others, in the here and now. I became much more aware of this as I kissed my daughter good-bye when dropping her off for school for the first time. Did I do enough to prepare her for this? Could I have done more? What if they teach her things that our values as a family don’t agree with? These questions, and several others, jumped in my mind as I walked away from her classroom.
The idea that we are trapped in forward moving, linear time is important for us to remember so I think that is way God gives us these reminders. Why is it important? Well, if we have to deal with out choices in the here and now then it is that much more important to make the right ones. All the questions I asked myself after having dropped Felicia off were about what I had and hadn’t done. Did I make sure she was ready for this? Because we only get one shot at it. Life doesn’t have an eraser to get rid of our mistakes nor does it have whiteout to cover them up. No, we must deal, here and now with the choices we make and so, when moments like I had today come, we are forced to examine those choices more closely.
These moments remind me that whatever it is I am doing I had better do to the best of my ability. If I am a father I better be the best father I know how to be and even try to improve as time goes by. If I’m going to be a friend, brother, Christian, employee, husband, blogger, singer, writer, son, co-worker, or speaker then I had better do it the best I know how and even try to improve as time goes by. If I am going to be a human being, (which I am by default as are you), then I had better be the best human being I can be…and even try to improve as time goes by. Because I only get one shot at it.
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