I love having my kids' friends over. Lots of them. Gatherings and get-togethers. A cacophony of voices, laughter, music, stories. On the last day of school in June, my boys, 12 and 15, invited two dozen (and a few more) friends to our house for a barbeque and musical jam session.
Throughout the house, kids organized themselves into clusters and sang, harmonized, improvised, jammed and made music. It sounded like a scene out of FAME, the movie. A house for the performing arts.
I loved every moment. The girls huddled around the piano upstairs to belt out Jar of Hearts, Roar, Brave, tunes from the stage, from Wicked, Les Mis and more...the electric guitar, bass, drums and sax in the basement, kicking up some dust with jazz standards turned on their head. Hours and hours of friendship, wonder and courage unfolding through music, joy and togetherness.
All over, the sounds of youth in tune with their passions and gifts.
And...each other.
I had a dream in that moment that every young person in the world could know this feeling. That every teen on the edge of nothing could find his something. That every child who felt alone would feel connected to a larger whole. Even a smaller whole. Just something whole...and real. That every young person who felt bored and disengaged with life would feel the unstoppable energy of music pulsing through her fingers on the piano or his arms on the drums. Could know their authenticity through creativity. Through exploring and expressing themselves fully.
Without judgment.
I saw all these shoes lined up, just so, side by side, in my front lobby, and I gazed long at them, acutely aware that these were temporary fixtures. Not just in my house. But on their own feet, which will outgrow these sizes and styles and colors and purposes. There was something already so retrospective about this moment, as if I was looking at it in a rear-view mirror.
Enjoying the ride may feel difficult in our age of go-go-go-get-it-done stress. But we must fight the urge to spin out and breathe in this present moment as a profoundly powerful reminder of what is real, alive and true in us and our kids. In doing so, we not only embrace all that is in front of us, but we strengthen our own immune systems, promote our own longevity, and share that vitality with our children.