Growing up in a small Southern town in the 50s and 60s was to have truly enjoyed the atmosphere of neighborhoods and large family gatherings. It was a simpler time when neighbors would get together under the shade trees and visit as they performed daily tasks. Children were free to frolic on the grass and build castles in the sand boxes.
Raising children in the 70s and 80s was a very different experience. My husband and I both worked outside the home and our sons became latch key kids. The time we did spend together as a family was quality time. We worked hard and played hard together. We took our two sons everywhere with us: on business trips, on all vacations, and outings. They brought so much pleasure to our lives with their imaginations, observations and innocence. They taught us many lessons of life, and I, for one, am so much wiser having experienced things through their eyes and interpretations.
During the 90s life seemed harder. There was so much to do and so many problems to solve. The financial situation of having both sons in college was an eye opener. The empty nest was bitter sweet at first. However, it didn’t take long to learn to actually love it!
But I realized that something was missing from my life. It was joy: the kind of joy that only children can provide. With no hopes of grandchildren in the near future, I reached into my memory cache and found myself recalling the wit and wisdom of days gone by from my own childhood and that of my children.
The new millennium brought opportunities to socialize and to strengthen and build friendships. I kept in touch with old friends; and developed new friendships through mutual interests, organizations and situations. Our activities migrated from business meetings and organized social gatherings to dinner parties and girl only get togethers. We celebrated birthdays and generally learned how to have fun again.
It was at a dinner party at a friend’s home that I was baffled when she posed the question: If I were an artichoke plate, where would I be? Of all the questions I had been asked in my life, this truly was the most unusual. It was one of those things that comes right out of left field and hits one on the head.
It is these haphazard mysteries of life that come and go so quickly that if we don’t latch on to them, they are gone forever. The same goes for hidden treasures at Christmas, imaginary friends, and things considered sacred.
As we reach middle age things do start to fall apart; for some its marriage, for some its health, and for others it’s financial. Men go through midlife crisis, women go through menopause. It is easy to get cynical and lose sight of what is important. But, if we learn to value our friends, to have compassion for others, and to enjoy the serendipity of each day, then Life Is Just a Dance!
