Mother Lode Metaphors

I took Baby S for his first haircut today - an adventure for both of us! While getting his signature "Trump-style" hairdo tamed I was musing at how quickly he is growing. At 6 months he is wearing clothing sizes in the 18 month range. He has his two bottom teeth and the top ones are beginning to peek through.

He is a hurry to get around in his environment and has no qualms about expressing his frustrations loudly when his desire outpaces his capability. Like most mothers before me, I'm simply amused by his desire to get moving - all because I can see his potential. I know that it is only a matter of time before he is in full command of his body and can explore every nook and cranny of his world.

My wisdom and ability to see where all his yet unfilled potential will take him does little to diffuse his frustration. And here I sit, at age 39 and see that the game , in some ways, is really not much different today for me than it likely was when I was 6 months old. There are so many times when know exactly what I want but haven't completely mastered how to tap into that latent potential.

Flipping Baby S over onto his back for the umpteenth time after he has gotten stuck on his tummy, I realize that it is those repeated attempts that open the door to discovering more. While he may not (who knows? ) have a sense of his potential to one day not only master rolling from his tummy to his back, but to swim, run, play football, dance and so much more, he doggedly keeps trying because he know there is more - if he can just get there.

How many of us can claim to have maintained that same level of persistence about our own growth and evolution? Scarred by life's hard knocks and challenges, we start to resist the urge to grow and evolve, choosing the relative safety of what we know. We deaden our urge to explore our potential in order to remain safe, avoiding pain, loss and other repercussions. But what are we giving up in the process? Who would we become if we were to choose to keep pushing the envelope?

Perhaps the biggest question of all, is to wonder how aware we are of the choices that we are making to either step into our potential, pressing its invisible boundary and claiming that new territory - or not? I don't believe that it is a switch that we flip and suddenly, that is how we live. I suspect, based on my own journey thus far, I need to continually check in with myself. Otherwise, rather than drive the bus that is my life, I'm a sleepy passenger, along for the ride without any participation - and we all know the hell of public transportation!

Time to flip Baby S again. Since I've been writing, he has rolled completely 2 or 3 times in both directions but he appears to have already forgotten that he did it. He is fully capable and doesn't seem to have noticed yet. Isn't that another mother lode metaphor worth exploring?!