The scene went like this:
Zeek: So, how are you doing, kid?
Julia: Oh, just doing what I do. Ruining my kids’ lives.
Zeek: Parents screw their kids up, that’s just the way it is, honey. It’s been that way since time began I think. It doesn’t matter … married, divorced, whatever. You’re gonna screw ‘em up. It’s the nature of it, you know. So don’t think you’re so special. Honey, the only way not to screw ‘em up is not to have ‘em. What a shame that would be.”
Truer words were never spoken.
Nobody’s perfect, which means there won’t ever be any perfect parents, or perfect kids. All of us need therapy. We all have issues. It’s the nature of things here in this broken world.
But to not live, to not experience all that life has to offer, to not squeeze every drop out of the days we’re given, well, that would be a shame.
Life’s gonna be messy and dysfunctional and hard to manage. I’m going to make mistakes—as a parent and as a person—no matter how hard I try to do things right.
So will you.
But the fear of screwing things up doesn’t need to keep us waiting on the sidelines. There’s no good in being a wallflower in this dance we call life. The whole point is to get out there and dance, do whatever it is you’re meant to do, and know going into it that you’re gonna make a mess.
If you’re raising kids, I can guarantee that at some point you’re gonna screw them up … at least a little.
Just make sure that you’re also loving them, teaching them, enjoying them, experiencing real life with them.
As the tagline of this blog says, “Life’s a song that’s meant to be sung.” That’s the whole reason I started writing. I want to spread the message that you need to be living your life—the way God intended when He made you. With joy and gusto and passion—and yes, even making mistakes along the way.
The only way to not mess up is to never live.
And in the words of Zeek Braverman, “What a shame that would be.”
