Monday, May 31, 2010

Better Git it In Your Soul

A friend of mine once heard that she would find something she had lost. She wondered and wondered about it. Don't think she's ever 'found it' or figured out what that phrase meant. But...

Sometimes I get the impression that there is something we all lose. I see it fading in the eyes of my youngest child as he 'matures.' He's an energetic young one, whose found joy in video games. He could spend hours in front of them if we allowed him. But as he gets older and acclimates himself to the reprimands/corrections regarding other outlets - i.e. clean your room, help around the house, etc - he finds a little less time for his favorite past time. If video games had not caught his attention at an early age, maybe it would be baseball or soccer or basketball. But he would be the kid that didn't understand why he couldn't play in the rain or why cold weather should be a deterrent to play. It's in his soul. He'll adjust, but it wont' be an easy transition for him. "Having fun" still means more to him than an orderly room.

My middle one found it. Funniest non-comedian I've ever met. Except for him, it's machines and 'knowing.' He can spend hours, days, weeks, researching the 'how' and 'why' of something, has patience to put off his wants until appropriate, and when comfortable with his surroundings, makes you laugh until your sides hurt. To see him during the 'build' season of robotics, he's driven, determined and has a one track mind to complete assembling the robot. He has an eye and hands for mechanics, especially something never 'done before.'

And my oldest child, my daughter. I would have to say she gets her sense of WOMANHOOD from her maternal grandmother, who she's named after. Always determined to be the best she can be and to strive to be a success, she's making a mark in the world. In clubs in college, she's a leader. Always poised and always presentable as a lady, that is 'her thing.' It's in her soul.

They will all be successful, one way or another. There is a determination in their soul that pushes them past restrictions and boundaries.

Better git it in your soul...it isn't 'lost' or 'misplaced.' It's that thing you stumble over, those thoughts you scream over,  that quiet voice that reminds you of desires unexpressed. It is that part of you, responsibility and adulthood says there is no room for. It is in your soul, waiting for the day you will exercise and revel in the joy of 'it.'

My daughter and I had a conversation this morning about how some people in the military are considered heroes for doing their job. We both agreed many young men and women go to the military because its an opportunity to make money and possibly get an education. "Hero" is accidental; it comes with the job. But then I thought how many people go to jobs - tomorrow, most Americans will wake, dreading the start of another work week, though a shortened one - that if they could turn their backs on it, would do so in a heartbeat. We do it because of convenience, money, or benefits. We do it because we "heard" this job "pays good." It isn't because it's what I've always wanted to do, or more importantly, because "that's who I am." And yet, when we fill our homes (and our hearts) with homes, cars, clothes, and flat screen televisions, we wonder why we aren't happy. When we realize our "in-come" doesn't match our "out-go" we wonder when does it all end. Well, when you realize it's "in your soul," maybe you'll wake up and leave the insanity you signed up for. Maybe then you will live in harmony with that 'missing link' waiting in a small box, in your soul. Maybe the struggle will not be over but begin to take on new meaning.

Better Git it in your soul.