Friday, June 19, 2009

Finding Purpose


Today was the girl's last day of exams so they are obviously all pumped up about the fact that school is over until September...........me?.....I'll let you know at the end of the summer. Now I do love having them around because they are good company and pretty cool kids but along with that comes all the driving which I feel quite mixed about. My oldest is supposed to be getting her license this summer but that too, is a double edged sword. I mean I know it's time and she is becoming more independent but now rather than driving her around I'll be sitting at home worrying that she's safe. There is no one more responsible than her and I know she'll be a great driver but I'm not deriving much comfort from that these days. Oh, the trials and tribulations of parenting. I suppose it never ends which is what my mother constantly tells me so I'll have to face the fact that I'll be spending a large majority of time breathing deeply, keeping my fingers crossed and realizing that some things are not under my control.

I need to be more like this guy that I met in the park last week.
He told me he sits on the same bench everyday and feeds the chipmunks. As I was standing there talking to him I was amazed at how many of them were gathered around him. He had names for them also, which some may find strange but I totally get. Jolly, is the chipmunk he's feeding in in the photo and I didn't ask why he named him as such. He said that coming to the park everyday and doing what he did gave him "purpose". That really resonated with me and I thought about it for hours afterward because isn't that what we are all looking for..........something that gives our lives purpose and meaning no matter how big or small............purpose........yeah, I love that!

3 comments:

andrea said...

I wish that was my father! Having no 'purpose' is what eats away what's left of his life I think. As for me, I'm in the same boat as you. Fortunately my 16 year old has made no noises yet about learning to drive, even though I'd been driving for 6 months when I was his age. I'm pretty happy to still be stuck with the chauffeuring. i'm not ready for the next phase yet!

Ellen said...

What a great picture of that man! as for purpose, it doesn't have to be anything big either does it?

I love this quote: "We act as though comfort and luxury were the chief requirements of life, when all that we need to make us really happy is something to be enthusiastic about."
-Charles Kingsley

Melody said...

Yeah Andrea....I'm o.k. with chauffeuring too.

Ellen, love THAT Quote!