It’s amazing what you can learn from a one year old. They have a knack for making a decisions without hesitation, regardless of the consequences. Although that fact can wreck a parent’s life, there’s a great beauty in their innocent recklessness. Today I saw a valuable lesson painfully acted out by my toddler. He’s been walking for a while now, always moving forward. He’s always in pursuit of the next best thing to explore. He constantly seeks that which will light his little heart of desire on fire.
Today, that pursuit of happiness trapped him in a corner, literally. He looked like a little Roomba vacuum cleaner bouncing off one chair, then the table, then the chair again. As I’m sure you can imagine it doesn’t take much of this activity to elicit a blood curdling cry for help. However, instead of just picking him up and setting him free, I helped him back out of there. It was hilarious. It was as if he’d never realized that he had another gear….reverse.
Fast forward three hours to the front yard. Imagine Michael Jackson circa 1983 
in the Thriller video. That’s right folks, we’re talking major Moonwalking. If you’ve never seen a one year old moonwalk, you haven’t lived. I use the term ‘Moonwalk’ loosely, a ‘cautionary back-peddle’ may be a more accurate description. Suffice it to say we spent the rest of the day walking backwards and enjoying all the blessings being able to move in reverse has to offer.
It gave me pause to think about my daily pursuit of happiness. Sometimes I’m so focused on moving forward I get stuck and can’t see the true goals. It’s nice to be able to take a step back sometimes and review your core values and the way they influence your goals. I know I’m guilty of moving forward without really knowing where I’m going. That’s an easy way to get stuck.
So what’s my reverse gear right now? It started by reading Todd Skinner’s book Beyond the Summit. It’s something I’d really like to share with you. I’d be happy to mail a copy to the first five people who post comments on the blog. Wouldn’t you like to know what’s beyond the summit?
Parenting, is there any greater joy? Not for me,even when it's bad it's still really good. My kids remind me daily through their actions that I should explore life with reckless abandon and relentless curiosity. To find the fun in life and cherish it. Watching them learn new things inspires me to do the same, then reality hits. I smell something rotten in Denmark,which one of them did that? Screams of," NO, THAT'S MINE, NO MY CAR." followed by crying, a short timeout, and a face to face sitdown with my two year old to discuss, Sharing and You, Why It's Important. I do love being a father and I can see you do too. If you're ever in Austin give me a yell.
Posted by: Travis Houser | April 20, 2007 at 08:24 AM
It is the nuggets like this that keep me coming back, Thanks Britt!
Posted by: Chris Shelton | April 24, 2007 at 11:28 AM
great story. do i get a free book? :) Ford is precious... love your pictures
Posted by: Mike Aurzada | May 07, 2007 at 05:36 PM
Britt my friend, it's been awhile since my son was a toddler. In fact, he just graduated from high school. Get ready... I've got news for you! He still doesn't seem to realize he's got a reverse gear! He's about 18 and still gets himself into corners. That's okay. I'm almost 50 and I still do it. Only my dad's not around to get me out ;^). At any age, sometimes it's tough to throw it into reverse. It takes a real act of will.
Posted by: Nick LaVecchia | June 12, 2007 at 07:29 PM