And suddenly the next

She sits in her easy chair after an early morning run. Next to her rests the softest doodle dog she has ever known. The furry being warms her chilled legs as she sips her second creamed coffee.

Another sits in her rolling kitchen chair and scraps up the recent calamity from the floor. Almost doing a head stand she remembers the days when summersaults and touching toes was fun. Now the imagination takes her to a more difficult position. What if she were to sprawl on the floor and not beable to reach the phone? Perhaps she should just slide the mess into the dustpan and leave the rest for the sweeper.

And yet another rides in the back of the old wagon. She grips the sides with her miniature hands. The bumpy ride makes her blink and whence. Until she realizes that her feet can help hold her in the seat also. Eventually her lips smirk in pleasure. Her eyes twinkle with the thrill of each rough jolt. Gradually the joy of her freedom to sit unstrapped allows her to babble and blurt “bumpity, bumpity, bump, bump!” What joy as she comes of age.

Coming of age is a reflective statement. It tells the listener that someone has realized her own existence. It is a “now” experience. The one who comes has discovered what it means to be in the moment. In the now.

In today’s climate so many people are living such a virtual existence that every waking moment is interjected with the “projected” lives of people on social media. People who unleash from those inputs can find a real peace and serenity. There are few such holy moments in life. Weddings, the birth of a child, the death of a loved one, and once in a while a celebration of sorts are great moments to unplug and experience life’s reality.

When we do finally take time to just listen, or go fishing, or breath the roses life is special.

Yet another woman comes of age as she holds a fish in mid air. Just the fact that she removed the hook from the fishes mouth makes her hand on to the moment a little while longer. She is brave. The smell of the water as the sun’s beams bounce off the surface has been burned into her memory. The way the water sprays into the air as the fish dives down into the murky water. There is life down there. There is life up here. On the dock, she feels that loose board squeak under foot. This is life. She has come of age.

And yet another offers up a knowing wink to her grandfather as they wait in the patient holding area. They have arrived at the appointment for her grandma nearly an hour early. The “silver hair gets in early” card may not work today. The doctor they are to see had an early surgery day and will be a few minutes late. He is working them into his schedule. But the young lady waits with her family patiently. She pulls out a game on her cellphone that does not require much though. That way she can listen to everyone’s conversation and interject her own comments as needed. She is glad to be of help. To be here to drive or just sit and wait with them. She, too, has come of age.

Coming of age…

Knowing the moment that is lived right now cannot be re-done. There is no going back. Only forward movement is possible. Life moves day by day, moment by moment. As suddenly the next year has come… Suddenly the next age is here. Like the little five year old going on six, forward motion continues.

The other day while riding through the local nature park, we watched a turkey hen try to dash into the underbrush. The forward drive of her head acted like a pendulum to get the rest of the body into motion. The turkey has such a regal pose, it was comical to watch the jerky motion of her strut. Understanding the pendulum motion of her forward strut, brought us to consider the forward motion of life. Like the pendulum that swings the hands of the clock ever around the face of time, coming of age propels each one towards the next.