Honie Briggs

Less than thirty seconds into this thing called life we get smacked on the ass and dressed for success. We can’t do a single thing for ourselves yet, but when you consider all of the learning that takes place in our first year, it is quite remarkable how quickly we manage to establish ourselves as the center of the universe. We become mobile within a few short months and soak up knowledge like a sponge. We discover that we thrive on interaction, all the while becoming progressively independent. By the time we have been on the planet a mere decade we are consumers of all things within our grasp.

We enter our teens knowing everything there is to know. Suddenly, a bizarre phenomenon which no one understands fills us beyond capacity with emotion and our sponge gets all wrung out from the squeezing and twisting that occurs when we discover the world does not revolve around us after all. For the next decade we become absurd caricatures of our former remarkable selves. Still growing and learning, but opposing the forces all around us. Then adulthood thrashes us around a bit trying to knock some sense into us. Those of us who are not one of the perfects spend the better part of a decade or two or three finding our way back to the place where it all began. You know, naked, screaming at the top of our lungs for no apparent reason.

What we wish and dream and hope for changes with every passing year. The pendulum swings. Wildly some days, barely perceptible others, but often it seems to me that I stay somewhere between baffled and omniscient. Motherhood has taught me to be prepared. Marriage has taught me to appreciate the little things. Living has taught me everything is temporary. Regular readers know I just celebrated a birthday. My loyal follower honored me with a guest post so sweet that it gave me a toothache. I love him for many reasons, not the least of which is his ability to make me appear to be a better person than I really am. My cranky, impatient, stubborn, damaged side gets turned toward the wall.

That is, until push comes to shove.

Thanks to everyone for the happy birthday wishes. Your comments really do make my day. I am taking the remainder of the summer to toil in the garden and sweat over the keyboard. Or maybe that is to sweat in the garden and toil over the keyboard. While HonieBriggs.com is out to lunch, check out the summer reruns hyper-linked in this post and feel free to talk amongst yourselves.

See you in September.