The Possibilities are Endless

It was probably in March of 2000 that I was sitting at the dinner table, in Hawaii with the Regional Vice President of Verizon and his wife. Sounds like the solution to a game of Clue....Miss Scarlet, in the library, with the lead pipe...

any way...

His name was Rick and his wife was Deb; a lovely couple. But it was one of those business dinners where I would tell someone we had five young kids at home...."yes we had them on purpose and yes we knew how it was happening...chuckle, chuckle, snortle, chuckle." But Rick took the conversation a bit further after he had a few drinks in him. Mostly his inquiries were about me and my life's goals and what kind of children we would actually end up integrating into society. He thought my kids were destined for Juvenile Hall or WORSE, they could end up not going to a prestigious university.
E- gads!

In response to his clear concern for my life, I retorted,
" If you gave me a few weeks training in one of your highest leadership positions I would run circles around your current leadership."

He looked dazed and stunned.

I ended with,
" And look me up in ten years and we will see how my five children have fared in life. I am certain they will be amazing."

Again he was glassy eyed.

He was so drunk it made me feel a bit more bold than usual but this conversation has been on my mind lately. I was confident in what I said to Rick at the time but with hindsight I can see that I really was being educated in profound and productive ways when I was home with Rachel, Carly, Jenna, Shane and Cassie.

How do I know this now?

I sit with grown-ups in my school class and am simply astounded at how "intellectual" they are but how little knowledge they possess. And trust me, I don't think I am better than they are AT ALL and I don't mean they are stupid or slow but more on how little they can produce from all that built up intellectualism. I can run circles around these adults and in a strange way I see that they can only focus on one or maybe two things at a time. When I want a solution in class I get busy looking for a solution.
(A must have practical daily tool when you are a mother is getting busy looking for solutions). While I find their art and their talents inspiring, I have found their lives to be lacking something...

...Maybe it is because they haven't matched socks endlessly or read stories with funny voices or rolled little girl's hair with pink sponge rollers.

So thanks, Rick, wherever you are for the rude questions and implications that you presented to me many years ago. It stirred something in me that night. And by the way, I have amazing kids, more amazing than I had even imagined that night.

While I have never cared about the prestige of what degree I have acquired, I have always cared about what effort I have put into being a mother and a wife. These titles have far reaching and endless possibilities for me. Being able to recollect my days as a mother of a large and busy family has left my soul in peace, my heart full of gratitude and my life filled with love.

It doesn't get any better than that.