I love it when I’m having a conversation and the person I’m talking with says something so profound and poetic that it just makes me say, “Wow … what a perfect way of expressing that.”
I’d like to share with you two “quotes” from people who said just a few sentences, but the words have deeply resonated with me.
The first came from a conversation I was having with my family practice doctor many years ago. (Despite his inspiring words, I don’t see this doctor anymore — but that’s beside the point.) We were talking about Sophie, when he said how he remembers his children at that age, even though they are now teenagers. And then he said this:
When your kids are little, you worry they’re going to run out in the middle of the street and get hit by a car. And when your kids are teenagers, you start worrying they’ll be the one driving that car that hits the kid.
I love these words! They’ve stuck with me for years. His sentiments perfectly illustrate how worry will always be a part of parenting. And even as your children grow, the worries are still there, they just change with time.
For some reason I always picture in my head a movie character saying this during a pivotal plot-point.
The second phrase I’ll tell you about also has to do with parenting. It comes from a recent conversation with a fellow mom whose children are 18- and 20-years-old. She was telling me about a time she and her daughter were talking about love and heartbreak, and she said this phrase to me.
As our children get older, you realize you can’t fix the things the hurt them. And you stop being a magician and start being a human being.
I was blown away! What a perfect way to illustrate how one’s role as a mother changes as your children get older. And no matter how much you want to, you can’t always make everything better or perfect. Even with Sophie (a mere 3 1/2-years), I can already feel this statement applies to me.
These words and sentiments move me. And such inspiration did not come from books, television or movies. It came from people and casual conversations. Musings like these help bring the introvert in me out of her shell to interact with others.