About 15 years ago when I was teaching high school, the senior class asked me to be the speaker at their Senior Breakfast. I readily agreed as I'd been waiting since my own high school graduation to do some type of commemorative speech. I entitled my speech, Live for Now, Live for Wow. I even said the expression in American Sign Language to give them a visual aid for remembrance. I wow'ed them w/ my piano playing and guitar playing, but what really made an impression was a cartoon strip that I kept (and still do) on my refrigerator. The Family Circus cartoon shows the dad paying bills when one of the kids comes in w/ a football, and the dad says, "Not now." The next frame shows the mom ironing clothes and the same kid comes in w/ a book, but the mom says, "Not now." In the final frame, the kid is all grown-up and heading out the door w/ the car packed for college. The parents are old and gray, sitting on the couch, and they say, "Now?" My message to these graduating seniors was basically the same as the adage, "Don't put off until tomorrow, what you can do today." That goes for work, but it also goes for putting the work aside to enjoy friends and family.
In preparation for the speech, I asked some of the graduating seniors about their plans after graduation. Most told me their plans for what college they'd be attending and their majors, and some told me about the sports they'd be playing and the summer jobs they'd be working. There was only one kid, a boy who tended to miss assignments and deadlines, who told me, "I'm going to take a nap." His answer was perfect b/c when we're young we're always looking to the future, both distance and near, until we get to the point where the future becomes the past, and we're looking back rather than ahead. Whatever it takes to feel the WOW, whether it's para sailing or parachuting from an airplane or holding a newborn or comforting a grandparent, we need to do it now.........not later.........not when it's convenient. Live for now, live for wow!
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