I know it's cliche' but the most common question asked around here these days is, where has time gone? And it's getting worse by the minute. It seems that time speeds up the older we get. Not that long ago I was teaching a group of younger Scouts about the concept of being obedient. I was explaining to them that at their ages (11 & 12) that obeying without question was important. And later in life when they reach college age, say 20 or so they could start questioning some of the rules. One of the boys raised his hand and said, "but Mr. Van, it's going to take forever to reach 20". All I could do is double over in laughter as I tried to say, "It will be here in no time at all kid". When you're young time seems to stand still, then as you age it picks up speed. Then you have a kid and hold on for dear life.
Which brings me to life in my house. We've lived the fast lane and arrived at our graduation month. I have one graduating High School and one 8th grade. So I thought we would just kick back and enjoy the month of May. You know reminisce and reflect on all the good time and such. That would be a big negative! For the month so far my kids lives have sped up so fast I'm not sure what they look like. My 8th grader goes to school all day then does Freshman football till 7pm every afternoon, then is locked in the office doing homework till bedtime. My Senior gets up in the morning to go take AP placement tests then spend the rest of the day and late into the night working with his band director on a play at the local theater. So much for kicking back for a few enjoyable weeks with my boys. I just hope I can recognize them walking down the aisle on graduation day.
Trust me, none of this is by accident. Ever since they were old enough to understand my boys have been pushed and pushed hard. It was decided before their births that they would be made to try as many things as possible. My boys did not have to make a life long habit of things but they had to try just about everything. They've done sports, academics, music, scouts, aquatics, and even some social events. The key was to explain to them that after this challenge, there will be another one. If I told them they had the day off they wouldn't believe me. They don't understand idleness and this sometimes conflicts with their friendships because other kids are raised just to sit and be idle. The thing is once you set something in motion it tends to stay in motion. Most people quote the simple law of physics of inertia, that states a body that is in motion tends to stay in motion. But if you read the rest of the law of inertia it also states that a body at rest tends to stay at rest. So to the crowd that says, "don't make little Johnny do something he doesn't want to do", I say you are cursing your kid. Push your kid into motion and do it often. Soon and very soon he will be in motion of his on choosing.
