Me standing in front of the high school admin assistant: It feels like there's something in my shoe. Me: Probably there is something in my shoe. Me: (takes shoe off and checks) It is a tiny piece of dog food. Awesome, I love when I do something like this in front of another person. Admin Assistant: I'm surprised the dog didn't eat the shoe Me: Me too What I didn't say is that I'm surprised I walked around on a piece of dog food for the last 2 hours. Or am I?
At bedtime last night, my 10 year-old asked me to stay extra long in his room. He was teary and said he couldn't stop thinking about dying. He couldn't stop thinking that, at the end of his life, he'd feel like it had all gone by so fast that when he died it would all mean nothing. Can you imagine? 10 years old. Full existential crisis. So I held him and stayed extra long. I could tell you the things I said to him, and they were good and they helped. But the truth is, he's got a point. It's one that I don't subscribe to, but I do think his observations are astute and more well-reasoned than a 10-year-old should have to face. His view is a fair one albeit bleak. And the idea that he grapples with it definitely put a large crack in my heart last night.