Listening to talk radio I heard a man talk about how having
a child turned his calm, quiet, orderly life into a life that was quite messy. And he couldn’t be happier. I can’t remember the examples that he gave
but they were along the lines of pre- child he could read the newspaper at leisure
on a Sunday morning, take long bike rides with his wife at a moment’s notice,
and go out to a fancy dinner without a care in the world. He resisted having a child for years because
he did not want to give up his nicely structured life for one that was (and
again, these are my examples since I can’t quite remember his, but you will get
the idea!) filled with cracker crumbs in the car, cartoons on the television
and lots and lots of noise. Now that he
had a child however, his life was messy yes, but of course, he was thrilled
with his new life.
Though his examples did not stick in my mind, the idea of
choosing a messy life over a calm and orderly one made a permanent impression. I
thought about the decisions we all make at one time or another. Some of us have more children, bring a puppy
or kitten into our lives (ahem!!), decide to move somewhere unknown and perhaps
exotic, change jobs, etc., etc. We take our calm and orderly lives and make
them messy.
And as I think about it, a messy life means a life filled
with more dimensions then ever before. New experiences to shake up our world as
we know it. Laughter, disruptions to
routines, new friends, expanded horizons, unconditional love; you can pick your
pleasure!
Does it always work out?
Maybe not. But if you don’t risk,
you’ll never know what you missed. Trite
but true. Is this new way of thinking another
rendition of my ongoing mid-life crisis along with my snazzy red sports car
and
brand new puppy?
And oh yes, becoming a
cast member in Listen to Your Mother Chicago 2013?
Maybe. But don’t stop
me now, I am making a mess! And loving
it!
