When I grow up……
…is a hot topic at the elementary school where I spend my “real work” days. Our graduating students are talking about their pathways - their life plans. It is so fun to see where they want their path to take them. Astronomers, dental hygienists, police officers….there is a wide range of ideas.
This got me thinking of my own pathway and how I ended up where I am. I can’t remember what my plan in elementary school was - maybe it was something crazy like a movie star or famous person, maybe I wanted to be a doctor or lawyer. I honestly can’t remember. There are many loops and u-turns on my own path. It is definitely not a straight line. I now know that our paths become crooked because life is constantly throwing down branches (sometimes entire trees) that require us to go over, around or back the way we came. Navigating those obstacles is how we learn and grow. That is how life is supposed to work.
Looking back, I realize now that flowers have always played a part in each step of this journey. I spent my childhood in the flower garden with my mother, worked in a retail greenhouse as a summer job in University and, through many location moves, I always started a flower garden in our yard even knowing I would only be there temporarily. Learning as much as I could about what varieties worked best in that location, I sought out books on growing flowers and watched videos (after the invention of the internet..lol) about people growing flowers for pleasure and for profit. The idea of a flower farm was always in the back of my mind as something I would like to do “someday”. It can be difficult to hold onto what seems like an impossible plan when you are in the midst of working full-time, raising kids, paying bills and trying to save for your future self. All too often, our dreams have to be put on the back burner to deal with the here and now of our lives. But here I am, trying to navigate this pathway. Is it easy?…heck no! It is really hard work with so many things to learn but the challenge is fulfilling something in me that I didn’t realize I needed.
I was suggested that I do a presentation to our graduating students about my own pathway and I have been wondering what I would say to them. It is very likely that their pathway will look absolutely nothing like the one they have created as a display to present to their classmates. Do I tell them that? Do I let them know that life will constantly throws branches in their path that might force them to change their plan or put their dreams off just a little bit longer? Do they really need to know that in advance? I don’t think so. I think it is something that they have to learn on their own as they navigate this thing called life. For now, they should be able to experience the fun and wonder of dreaming their big dreams.
I can tell them that although my own pathway has many stops and starts, I am so very happy with where it has taken me. Even though there were many times I couldn’t see a clear path as I went along, I ended up right where I want to be. They should know that we are all here just doing the best we can with what we have. Most importantly, these beautiful young minds need to be told not to give up on their dreams no matter what stage of life they are in because we never know when a new pathway might appear and we all need to be ready to take that first step to follow our dreams!