At the ready

Day 96:

While cruising at the Crew tonight a cute young couple strolled in with their even cuter young ones. The boy one of about 4 years needed the restroom, so mom handled that effort while dad stayed out on the floor (where all the merchandise is displayed) and played with the infant girl one in the mirror.

Watching this family getting on with their cuteness immediately made me want my own tiny tikes.

About 30 minutes later a child that was not shopping in our store began to cry uncontrollably just outside.

This had the opposite effect.

This also made me realize why I do not have kids.

Upon sharing this realization with my manager, she naturally asked, "When is anyone 'ready'?"

She's right.

Although I tried the, "Well, when you took the keys to your parents' car for the first time you knew you were 'ready' enough, right?", her point still stands.

A number of far wiser people than I, people whom happen to also be parents, have shared that when it comes to becoming a parent, you're never ready. According to them, there's never enough time, money, or books to make anyone ready for child rearing.

Aside from causing further apprehension, this tidbit of advice makes conjures up another question.

Are we ever ready for anything?

I know I'm never ready for those mornings when I sleep through my alarm.
I know I'm never ready for the days where the traffic far exceeds my allotment of time.
I know I wasn't ready to leave school today at 4pm to head to The Crew when I still hadn't finalized my sub-plans for tomorrow.
I know I wasn't ready when my grandmother had her stroke, or when my grandfather took a turn for the worst.
And I bet I probably won't be ready when the time comes to add the title of Father to the list of roles that I play.

Which means, whether I'm ready or not, the one thing I really CAN control is how I'll respond to the "I'm not quite ready for this" moments that will most certainly find their way into my reality.

Today I learned that maybe it's not about being ready as much as it is about being willing to welcome and grow from the experiences that show us that we're never really ready for anything.

Are you ready for what tomorrow may bring?
At the very least, are you ready to learn from it?

Speaking of learning, what have you learned today?