In late May, I returned home to Texas to spend some much-needed time with friends and family.
It was a friend’s thirtieth birthday, well, at least that was the reason I originally went home. During the course of the week, I watched my friend fret back and forth over turning thirty. Yes, I understand this is a milestone, and in classic context, the time when most people moan about how much they haven’t accomplished in life. My friend was no different.
My friend and I spent a lot of time leading up to his birthday discussing his life. Frankly, the guy was bemoaning the wrong things. He didn’t make enough. He was going nowhere. He was overweight. Unhappy. Do I need to go on? One day of this was enough, but it went on for two days.
I needed a break. I went to see another friend of mine and her three children. These guys are my life, and honestly, they know much more about life then I do. See, children know the secret to a happy life. Somewhere between childhood and adulthood, we lose sight of this secret. I count parents as the lucky ones. They get daily reminders.
I took the lessons I learned on that trip home and tried to apply them to my friend, but more importantly, I tried to apply them to my own life. Here’s just a small sampling of what I learned when I went home, perhaps you’ll find them of some use too.
LESSON 1: Children don’t “exercise” they have “fun.”
Jay, the youngest of my friend’s kids, is a ball of fire. When Unkie Tommy comes to visit it’s all fun and games. I worked out more in the few hours I spent with Jason then I’ve spent an entire year in the gym. See, children don’t understand the concept of fitness or exercise. To children running around the yard for hours is fun. Jumping on a trampoline - fun. Throwing a ball - fun. Instead of moaning how you need to go to the gym, or exercise or any of those dreaded adult words - let’s replace it and call it what it should be - fun. I bet you’ll go to the “playground” a lot more, I know I do.
LESSON 2: Anything in excess will make you sick.
David, the middle of my friend’s kids, and I went to get ice cream while I was home. David insisted on eating more than he could really stomach. I wasn’t exactly the nicest person - I let him do it. Hey! It’s a lesson he needed to learn. Remember when you were younger and on Halloween, you tried to eat all the candy you collected? Yeah, I do too. And I remember the result, a tummy ache. So let’s apply this lesson to the bar shall we? Too much alcohol will lead to the cursed hangover. Let’s try to avoid that shall we? And it’s simple, it’s the same thing you’re mommy taught you over candy. Step away from the bar, kids
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LESSON 3: The only way to understand something is to take it completely apart.
Dusty, for better or for worse, is the same kid I was growing up. Place an object in front of him and it’s down to screws and parts in five minutes or less. Within an hour or so, he’s put it back together, minus a screw or two, but he understood how it worked. He could follow the mechanics of it. I was having trouble with my friend, the one who was turning thirty. I started to take the problem down to the root cause and go from there. By the end of my trip, I understood where he was coming from and was able to help him lay out a plan of action to avoid his thirty-first birthday being a repeat of this one. I have Dustin to thank for that. When you don’t understand something, tear it apart and rebuild.
