Life happens! It doesn't always happen the way we want it to, or events when we want them to, but it happens. We participate or we cease to exist. We learn to accept and deal with disappointment and regret every day, but some of us never stop dreaming or reaching for those "just out of grasp " stars. We learn as we go. We dream, we do and some of us believe so much in our dream, that we just know that it will happen someday.
I am pleased as I can be to tell the world that my amazing son has reached for the stars and got just a little bit closer to them today.
At exactly 5:44 pm last night, the phone rang and this very pleasant voice asked to speak to my son by the name that everyone but family and old friends call him. I had a feeling it was a call that he had been waiting on for such a long time, and I was right. You see, we had submitted headshot and resume by email just a few nights before. Since we didn't get the call for a Friday call, we just figured it wasn't meant to be this time and settled into watching and waiting for the next opportunity to start up that ladder. Waiting led to that one wonderful phone call.
To say that he was excited would be putting it mildly. Ecstatic would be more accurate. Three feet off the floor and a grin as big as Kansas would come closer to describing his reaction after he got off the phone. We made the required call to the Hotline and got all of the information for the shoot and began the process of weeding out his wardrobe and packing a bag for him with the required 4 backup outfits.
I'm not sure if he slept at all last night, but I hope he did because it is a 12 hour day, and a lot of hurry up and wait. Being particularly insistent about being early for things, we left the house at 7:30 this morning for a 9:00 am call. I wanted to make sure I had time to get lost and un-lost, (or to quote someone near and dear to me, temporarily displaced!). We got there 45 minutes early, plenty of time to spare, only to find out, that had we recalled the Hotline, we would have discovered that the call time was changed to 10:00 am. We've got a lot to learn about this stuff! None the less, butterflies in his stomach, 4 outfits and a duffle bag included, he got signed in, and began his day of hurry up and wait. Not a problem. You could have told him he might be sitting there for a week, and he wouldn't have minded a bit. As I left, I glanced over my shoulder just in time to see him beginning to be part of the whole group that was there, each one of them, reaching for that first star. No! I didn't cry, I just grinned and walked off the set and headed home. Gonna be a long day!
I have shared a lot with you about both of my kids. They are both incredibly talented and blessed with amazing gifts that they have each had the opportunity to share with others. My daughter was dancing before she was walking and was doing solos and duets when she was 2. She was always a crowd pleaser because she was so tiny compared to the rest of the kids. When she was not quite 7, she had visions of ice skating and decided to hang up those dance shoes and take to the ice. 18 months later, she won a national competition for her age group. Trophies, gold medals, silver medals, bronze medals, all adorned her room as she grew up.
When we began a puppet ministry at our church, she was hesitant to participate, but she did it for her mama, and became one of the best puppeteers I've ever seen. That piece of stuffed cloth and yarn on her hand came to life and her personality resonated from it. She could do it all. There wasn't anything stopping her and now, she's a grownup (kind of) and dreaming new dreams and finding new talents and gifts to share with the world.
Remember a few weeks back and I told you about my son's incredible ability to memorize movies and characters down to every last detail. For as long as I can remember, this "little" boy has wanted to be an entertainer, and being sensible Mom, I tried my best to discourage him, but to no avail. Now, I'm glad that I failed at that endeavor, because today, he proved me wrong. I love it when that happens. No, I really do, because to me, that shows dedication. determination and a spirit of believing beyond anything that I think I could ever comprehend.
It's not a Golden Globe, it's not even a speaking part. Those don't come easy, but it's a start and to him, you might as well just have handed him an Oscar, because that's what he was seeing. Whether it's today and next week as an extra in a made for tv movie, or a one liner in something that could happen next month, he is living his dream. He is eating, sleeping, breathing, waiting and believing in all of those tomorrows that he has put on that shelf just waiting for him to show up and capture them in all of their glory. He is doing it and that impresses the daylights out of me.
I want to share this thought with you before I close. None of our kids are perfect, none of them, no matter what any of us wants to believe, they are not perfect and neither are we. But each of our children start off as a blessing to not just our lives, but our world and our existence. We teach them and mold them and set examples. We yell, we put them in time out, we hug them, we fix boo-boos. We cry when they break our hearts and we cry when they make us proud. We cry when they grow up and start their own life and we cry when they reach for the stars and actually pluck one from the night sky. I love them, unconditionally, forever. I hope you do yours, too.
So, if it's been awhile since you've opened those arms and scooped that ornery, rebellious teenager into them and hugged them like your very life depended upon it, do it! Do it now! Do it often! Tell them how much you love them, good and bad. Tell them that you know that they have made mistakes, and that's okay, because you STILL love them! Tell them that you made plenty yourself, but you grew up in spite of those mistakes and that is why you are standing there at that very moment doing exactly what you are doing - loving your child. They may pull back, they may yell at you, they may tell you to quit being stupid, they may tell you that they don't love you and accuse you of not loving them. But hug them anyway and tell them over and over and over again that they are loved.
In Rick Warren's book, The Purpose Driven Life, he tells us in Chapter Two, the very first sentence, "You are not an accident. Your birth was no mistake or mishap and your life is no fluke of nature. Your parents may not have planed you, but God did."
Remember, God never does anything by accident! He has a reason and purpose for each and every one of us. He wants us to learn and grow from our mistakes as well as our triumphs. Remember that the next time your children have led you down the path of wanting to wring their precious necks. We've all tested the waters, and that will never change. But, WE ALL HAVE A PURPOSE. We all have our moments to shine and we have all made bad choices and we have all had to deal with consequences. So, remember that before you bring the wrath of the world upon your offspring.
Well, it's supper time here. I would imagine that my son is either exhausted or exhilarated and he still has 5 hours to go on his first day of taking the first step of getting just a little closer to touching that first star. Can't wait to scoop him up and give him a big hug. My precious daughter has spent the afternoon sitting with a friend while she had some new artwork added, basically, a tatoo. And now, she and her husband are getting ready to spread out a feast for their friends to share to celebrate a special birthday. Wish she was a little closer so I hug her too. Love them both, more than life itself.
Do me a favor. Finish reading this installment of Life's Morsels and go hug your kid. If they're not where you can reach out and touch them, call them, send them an email, a text, Skype, whatever. Just tell them you love them and how very, very special they are to you.
Hugs, y'all!
Kaye
it wouldn't be me if I didn't leave you a couple of things to think about.....as always, this is In His Glory!
"Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate." (Psalms 127:3-5 ESV)
