It was a lazy Saturday evening. Darling girlfriend had made a wonderful dinner and we had watched a movie, Cabin in the Woods. She complimented this simple dude from Missouri for staying awake through the bizarre flick. Trust me, it wasn’t easy. Anybody else seen the 90-minutes of mayhem? Don’t waste your time.
Anyway, after the movie ended the Chicago native handed me her Ipad. It had a picture of a precious princess, my almost sixteen-year-old daughter Rachel at her high school homecoming dance. She looked happy.
For whatever reason, while staring at a picture of daughter getting smooched on the check by her boyfriend - that ain’t easy either - my mind wandered to many years ago. Kids grow up fast don’t they? The moment became a favorite story in my first book, Kids Teach the Darndest Things: Life Lessons from our Little Ones:
“Daddy, what’s this?” asked the seven-year-old while preparing to brush her teeth before bed. She had come into my bathroom to bum some toothpaste and was staring at a plaque, Life’s Little Instructions, that rested in the corner of my vanity. “Oh, that’s just a fun thing Daddy picked up a few years ago at a garage sale,” I responded. I must admit, it had become part of the bathroom landscape and rarely read.
Life’s Little Instructions suggests 55 ideas toward happiness, stuff like: “sing in the shower;” “treat everyone you meet like you want to be treated;” “return borrowed vehicles with the gas tank full;” Words of wisdom. Ironically, we were looking for a bedtime book for Rachel to read, so why not read all of these thought-provoking ones?
“Think big thoughts but relish small pleasures,” the second-grader zipped through most of the simple, yet profound sayings rather easily, rarely getting stuck on any fancy words, because, there weren’t many. “Wave at kids on school buses,” a young girl growing into a young woman, as I recall, really liked that one.
Toward the end of the lengthy list of sage advice, the one-time ballerina who has grown into a standout volleyball player struggled with two multi-syllabic words: “exclamation” and “explanation.” They are key words in the statement, “Live your life as an exclamation, not an explanation.”
“Daddy, what does that mean?” Rachel asked after finally learning how to pronounce the “ex” words. I pondered that while looking into two beautiful blue eyes that are windows to the soul of the “greatest girl in the whole wide world.” Finally, I offered, “Well to me, it means what I do is more important than what I say. My actions are more powerful than my words.”
She offered, “Whatever Dad!” - some things don’t change with time - finished the list and went off to bed. Well, I didn’t sleep well that evening. I kept asking myself, “Am I living my life as an exclamation or an explanation?” If I was explaining far too often instead of exclaiming, what obstacles are keeping me from shifting toward exclaiming and not explaining? It’s a question asked of self often, almost nine years later.
What about you? Do you find yourself constantly explaining why things aren’t working out so well at home, at work or with friends and loved ones? Or are you locked in the great possibilities of your life and truly exclaiming yourself?
This week let’s focus our thoughts, words and actions on things that honor, nurture and add value to the communities we serve. If we can pull that off, we’ll have little need for explanation because our healthy and productive actions, will speak far louder than any words.
A beautiful daughter is growing up. A boy smooches her cheek and she approves. A father wonders, “Where did time go?” A maturing young woman will always be daddy’s little girl. Exclaim, not explain, life. Our memories are reminders of life’s important lessons.
No comments:
Post a Comment