VirginiaWind - From Where I Sit March 2007

More Backseat

Email Michelle at clooliss@hotmail.com.

Backseat - From Where I Sit

March 2007

Balance of Life

In between moments of knowing that time is precious, I am torn between wanting it to hurry up (this usually occurs during my working hours) and wanting it to slow down (this is usually when I look at my reflection in the mirror). As I enter what the rest of the world so delicately calls “mid-life”, I realize that it is truly a balance of what has gone on before and what is yet to come.

Just when we think we can relax because our children are leaving or have left the nest, the reality of a whole new world greets us. As childcare expenses go down, life insurance premiums go up. Seems kind of backwards to me, as I swear, my life expectancy is probably longer now that I am not having to dash up a flight of stairs before my toddler falls down them or not having to sit in the passenger seat of anyone holding a Learner’s Permit. Somebody should actually do a study on that and talk to those actuary folks.

Other costs don’t seem to decrease like you would expect either. Those expensive bottles of formula and jars of baby food are replaced with expensive cans of diet drinks and meal replacement bars. You go from owing your soul Gerber and Infamil to handing your paycheck straight to Slimfast and PowerBars. Nothing is more disappointing than the realization that I have waited over 25 years for a payoff that isn’t going to happen. There is always hope that my children will become rich and maybe then I will get a good “Return on My Investment”.

As I ponder the differences between what has past and what is yet to come, I can’t help but notice the similarities between my early childhood and my oncoming second childhood. Babies don’t know yet, I just can’t remember. Either way the outcome is the same. Small children mark on walls, I scribble on sticky notes. Neither one is understandable to anyone. Naps once again become important. Except this time around I am fighting to go to sleep, not stay awake.

I have noticed that this phenomenon doesn’t only affect me. It seems that whenever I do something my husband disapproves of, he mutters sounds under his breath that are strangely similar to the gibberish I hear from my 1-year-old nephew. (Though I have a sneaking suspicion my nephew’s comments are more desirable). It is starting to become apparent that the further any of us get from childhood, the more childlike we all become.

Apparently all things in life literally come full circle as we go from 3 wheels (tricycles) to 2 wheels (bicycles/motorcycles) back to 3 wheels (trikes). So no matter how far we think we have come, we are just running laps around the track. Let’s all hope we get a few good wheelies while we are out there.

Ride Safely!

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