I’m on a hike with a group of friends, and because I’m not the best about getting in exercise I end up setting a pace with a lot of breaks. On the bright side, these breaks allow for conversation and connection. During one such break we’re discussing time spent with our parents when a middle-aged couple comes by from the opposite direction. They’re in their forties; fifties at the oldest. They pass on encouragement that we’ve nearly reached the top, and one of the girls with us invites them into our conversation.
We discuss college some, since most of our group is composed of high school seniors, and learn that the husband went to Air Force Academy. Two of my friends are interested in aviation. And the wife, in particular, appreciates our discussion about child-parent time, sharing a story about her now-grown sons from when they were younger. They would play with airsoft guns in the yard, and she used to hate picking up all the pellets left behind. Now, she says, she still finds those pellets, but her perspective on them has changed. Now, she collects them in a jar and they serve as a sweet reminder of the days when her sons were young.“ The things that annoy you now,” she says, “will be the things you appreciate most when they’re gone.”
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