In the Middle of...Dinner with a side of wisdom

Sara, a very "wise", 18-year-old hostess in Myrtle Beach, SC was gracious enough to impart some very valuable knowledge on us recently. We did not ask for this wisdom, it was simply given. In the spirit of giving in its purest sense.

The fact of the matter is, she would not stop giving. We were gracious at first, smiling and nodding at her enthusiastic, and very immature, views on religion, parenting, college, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.... We tried to ignore her when she approached our table and interjected herself into our conversation for about the 17th time. But the need to give us her nuggets of insight was so powerful it was not to be denied. We left laughing about the learning that Sara still had to do; the experiences ahead that would most certainly reshape her nieve, unrealistic views; and the patients she would "heal" after earning the psychology degree she was seeking.



The fact is, I envied her the very innocence we mocked.



Yes, life has taught me many valuable lessons in my almost (gulp) 50 years. Most importantly, what I know to be true today is fluid, and will most certainly be altered by the lessons of tomorrow. Additionally, I may not like what the universe has to teach me and try to fight it. We humans do resist change, don't we? Recently my husband pointed out that I have developed a rather sarcastic way of responding that seems to be reserved expressly for him. After I told him that "maybe it is just your insecure way of interpreting me!" I began to think back on many of our recent conversations. Hmmm...could he have a valid point? No, that couldn't be it.

Well, lesson 1 of the New Year, I need to be more aware of the messages I am sending out. Both the spoken and the implied. Like it or not these messages may be influencing someone else's perception of me, themselves or the world.

Sounds surprisingly similar to what I try to teach my middle-schoolers!

See Sara, none of us has all the answers, but please, leave the philosophizing to us real grown-ups! Your untainted idealism just messes up all of our hard earned cynicism!