Out of the Mouths of Babes

My favorite thing to do in the morning is driving my 7 year-old Julia to the International School in Prague, where she is in first grade. It’s normally a 20-minute drive and during that time we sing, mostly American rock & roll, but also Czech and Slovak songs, as well. It’s great! In between CDs, we have discussions that sometimes just blow me away. I missed much of this with my two older daughters, Doreen and Polly. I was “too busy” running around the world building companies and simultaneously trying to find out how to express my Life Purpose while still achieving Balance between my personal and professional lives—a tough lesson to learn, but worth the effort.

Now, as I hear Julia express her deepest, honest, no-holds-barred thoughts, I’m sad that I didn’t take the time with Doreen and Polly. What a loss. This morning, this was brought home by a simple statement from Julia. We were discussing her life now as a 7 year-old and what it was like for her when she was 3 years-old and just entering pre-school. She offered a number of recollections that were exciting or even scary to her at the time, and then she said to me in a sweet and earnest voice, “You know Dad, back then I knew what I know, but now, Dad, I am not sure I know what I knew.” My mouth dropped. I didn’t speak a word for several minutes. I couldn’t.