A Moment In Time
/I'm sitting in the Black Hills of South Dakota, resting after day one of a leadership laboratory where I lead the morning session and become a student in the afternoon sessions. It's been over a decade since I spent time in South Dakota. A buddy of mine and I backpacked a section of the Badlands, which was terrific. Still, it was also our first backpacking trip, so it was probably not the brightest idea. The trip does make for a great story, which is still a rule I live by. Live your life in a way that you get to tell great stories later! Yet my mind wandered back to Friday afternoon and the drop-off lane at my daughter's school.
My first grader and kindergartner bounded out of our sweet mini-van and didn't even look back. It was a boost of confidence in my wife's and my partnering style and our healthy relationship, a tug at my heartstrings of them needing us less, and a reminder of how quickly life goes by. It was the best emotional journey because it encapsulated many different emotions of human experience. And the best, joyful moments of our life do that. They capture heartbreak, anger, excitement, nerves, happiness, joy, and laughter, weaving them into one tapestry, heart-melting moment. A moment that, if I could pause time and live in that moment for a little while, I would. A moment that reveals, with all the ups, downs, successes, and failures in life, I have created a good life with even better people!
See, the first trip to the Badlands of South Dakota was in April 2012, 12 years, 4 months, and 26 days ago. Anne and I were in our infancy as a couple. I was still a front-line staff member and a hopeful public speaker, but I was still floating by on my charm. Sure, the outline of a life to be super engaged in and proud of was there, but it lacked the things that make a life go honestly. Yet here I sit in the lodge of the camp I will call home for a week and can only think of two little girls bounding out of the mini-van with all the confidence they need to tackle the day. What a powerful yet small reminder that I'm doing something right. And that I have the life I want to lead with a partner worth doing it with.
I have the people around me I want to have, the type of relationships I want to be in, and the outlook I want to have. I have a wonder and am curious about what will come in life. I'm having absolute joy being a director of a wonderful non-profit, a dad, a husband, and just being me. Will it stay this way forever? Nothing will remain great forever; that's not how life works.
But I do know if I'm lucky enough to sit somewhere for 12 years, 4 months, and 26 days and have a moment to reflect. I will think about this moment and wish I had paused the moment in the school drop-off lane. I will be flooded with great thoughts and memories of the people of my life leading to this point. This, again, will make an excellent story to tell others in the hope of spurring their journey to a life they are happy with. While it's just a moment, it is such a beautiful, peaceful moment; it can last a lifetime.