Wedding showers; choir gang; older and younger generation; learn from our kids

Wedding showers are fun. Social get-togethers with old friends provide us with opportunities to reconnect and celebrate the next generation. We put the young folks in the spotlight and ask about their stories, their plans, their hopes and visions for the future. There is so much enthusiasm and ability on that sofa in the hosts’ basement. The older generation, seated around them in chairs placed to accommodate the gathering, surrounds them with our love and support. The elders’ conversations bounce between what we are doing, what ails us, and our reaffirmations of living life to its fullest. Upcoming trips excite us (Arizona, Costa Rica, Vienna), while completed travels engage our imaginations (NYC and Broadway shows). We show concern for one another and the crosses we bear: Parkinson’s Disease, a heart that could burst anytime, recent surgeries, a touch of dementia, old age. I wonder what the younger folks think when they see us in this element. We seem so jovial, yet we’re all dealing with so much. I bet the younger kids wonder what we were like 30 years ago. We wonder what the kids will develop into 30 years from now.

It has been said that youth is wasted on the young. Rubbish. These young folks in our presence are not wasting their youth. On the contrary, they are living out loud so we can hear their calls and explore with them. They are the purveyors of unplanned adventures, surprises, if you will. They live, they experience, they learn along the way. They help us remember how to live, even though our experience should indicate that we learned how to live generations ago. We want to continue teaching them about life, but the tables turn. We are now the students, and they the teachers.

I assign homework every week. However, the assignments I receive this weekend somehow seem more relevant and long-lasting. More life-changing. As I experience this busy and fulfilling weekend, I learn again how precious life is. I am reminded again of how blessed we are with wonderful family and friends. I stretch myself to show up and be fully present. I don’t want to miss any of it. A weekend filled with surprise blessings and the positive assurance that our future is not being wasted in the youthful, capable hands of our kids.

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Day 27: August 26, 2023: Day 27
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