It’s fun having a small child. Having the opportunity to view all of the wonders of the world through their eyes sometimes reminds us of what we have lost by transitioning into adulthood.
Last night was a good example of such a time… My son, who will turn four late in December, went out to “Trick or Treat” last night. When I arrived at his house, he was already dressed up as a black cat complete with a chain leash wrapped around him. (He was supposed to be the familiar to his older sisters Witch.)
He exhibited all of the exuberance of youth in his quest to collect more candy in a couple of hours than the country of Switzerland produces in a year. The excitement of his costume, of Halloween, of seeing all the decorations and other children dressed up was very apparent in all of his actions.
Setting out for the evening, he ran, he jumped, and he knocked on doors yelling “Trick or Treat”, collected his candy, said his thank you, and ran to catch up with the older children, already on their way to the next house.
But as the evening wore on, his steps slowed, his enthusiasm waned, and the bucket on his arm (already carrying an impressing haul) started to dangle. Soon, he was begging to be carried and passing his bucket off to anyone who would assume the burden. And eventually, instead of showing exhilaration at the prospect of receiving free treats, he started to feel apathy at having to visit yet another house, and eventually, dread. But once the evening was over, and he was back home looking through all of the different candies he had collected, his excitement about the evening returned and he appeared to be content with his efforts and their desired results. The anxiety was lost in a moment as he realized his journey complete.
Later in the evening, after I had returned to my apartment, I was standing outside in the chill night air smoking a cigarette while observing Orion rise above the horizon. I started to reflect upon the evening and I found myself impressed at how my son had shown me a full cycle of a life experience in less than a couple of hours. I saw how a lot of our adult life is spent, sometime in weeks, sometime in months, sometime in years, starting a journey, being excited about the prospect, sometimes feeling overwhelmed as we go along, and most of the times feeling relieved once it is over.
Yet, we can then look back with a certain amount of satisfaction on what has been, knowing that the trip was worthwhile, and wondering when the next journey will begin.
About Me
- Morgan2112
- I am an…eclectic…individual with a soul as ancient as the multi-verse; I live by a code of Lawfulness, but one of my own design, and one which is anachronistic; I possess utter derision for the societies of the world today – I see them as a desecration of the potential eminence of humanity; I am no more than myself…
3 comments:
It's kind of a parallel between childhood and adulthood, isn't it? We dread going to work, but when the weekend and payday come, we're happy to sit back and revel in our rewards. For kids, it's having to pound the pavement to get candy. For adults, we work for The Man just to be able to relax on Saturday and Sunday and watch DVD's, have a barbecue, and maybe go out and pickle ourselves for a few hours.
I know exactly how you feel, dear Morgan. I didn't get to take my younger son trick-or-treating this year. My sister had the privilage of that task. But, I, like you, was amazed at his enthusiasm and his exuberance over this ritual. When I was a wee lass, my parents wouldn't take us trick-or-treating. They didn't have very strong ties to the community in which we lived. However, my mom being the primary president in the ward in which we lived, did plan huge Halloween parties for us kids so that we could enjoy Halloween safely. We had a lot of fun at these parties, and it was even greater fun being able to bring our friends outside our faith. Halloween is what we make it out to be. It is fun, but there are some dangers involved, also. I'm glad that your son had a lot of fun, and that you were able to spend time with him. I know that Halloween has always been a favorite holiday for you. The holidays are times to instill strong traditions in our children that we have always held dear to us. I know that you will be able to instill even more happy times with your son and whomever else comes into your life.
Yeah, journey's start out with excitement: they're all potential and the destination is on your mind... hours (days, years) later, the journey has been all too real and the destination is a hollow echo in the vastness of the road. But, if we don't give up, the destination may, in fact, be everything we hoped for. And when it is, the journey becomes the echo, the fleeting memory, while we enjoy the goal. (Of course, sometimes we go through hell and find that we weren't shooting for paradise, but some tacky plastic thing. Some journeys aren't worth it, but we don't know that until the end!) May your current journey end in joy!
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