Friday, March 16, 2007
Love is ...
I learned a lesson about love yesterday.
My beloved Cardinals (the University of Lousiville variety) were scheduled to play a first-round game in the NCAA tournament at 12:40. I was scheduled on a field trip with my 6 year old at 10:45 and then to taxi my 15 year old to the doctor's aoffice for an appointment at 3:00. The field trip (which included 300 of my closest 1st and 2nd grade students) was to the Lexington Philharmonic's Tribute to Kentucky Heritage. (Yes, I attended the symphony with over 300 6 and 7 year olds .. that alone should define love.) To arrive at the Opera House, we had to park 9 blocks away, navigate congestion that can only be described as sardine-ish and herd our small charges on the walk AS a cold front came through dropping the temperature 30 degrees along with about 1 inch of rain. The weather arrived earlier than I, for one, had expected .. so my coat was warmly tucked in my car .. back at school. The congestion was NCAA- produced because my aforementioned Cardinals (along with 7 other teams) were playing at Rupp Arena in downtown Lexington ... strategically located between blocks 3 and 4 on the 9 block trek I previously described. To add anguish to my misery ... every street corner was filled with shady-looking characters offering me lower-level seating to watch my aformentioned beloved Cardinals .. AT BELOW FACE VALUE TICKET PRICES!!
Love dictated that I proceed to the Opera House. I didn't even get to hear the game on radio. Or see it on TV ... it ended while I was in the waiting room of our pediatrician ... trying to avoid breathing the blizzard of respiratory germs being sneezed into the air. The good news is , my beloved Cardinals won, and will play again tomorrow. I am going to be with relatives celebrating my wife's birthday. I've given somethought as to why, and the answer is love.
Love is ... my 6 year old daughter bragging to her friends that "my daddy can make the funniest noises" while we wait for the orchestra to tune up. At the top of her lungs.
Love is ... my 15 year old and I laughing so hard in the exam room, waiting for the doctor, that the nurse peeked her head in to see what was going on.
Love is ... rooting for your school ... when your kids know that you root more for them.
Love is ... amazing. And from God. It's way too easy to dismiss a choice as a "no-brainer" ... kids always trump sports ... except that in real life, most of us miss that some of the time. I can't choose to love consistently or realsitically apart from dwelling within the kingdom of God. March Madness only provides a temptation for me to be selfish once a year ... but there is no day or week that a thousand other possibilities don't emerge to attract me to self-indulgence. To entice me to act un-lovingly. But in the maelstrom of self-centered opportunitites, God speaks. From within. And says "I love you."
You want to know what love is? It's not a 43 year old dad listening to Beethoven instead of "Go Cards!" .... it's a 6 year old daughter at the end of the day, embracing a far-less-than-perfect man .... forgiving his mistakes and hugging his neck. "I love you."
My beloved Cardinals (the University of Lousiville variety) were scheduled to play a first-round game in the NCAA tournament at 12:40. I was scheduled on a field trip with my 6 year old at 10:45 and then to taxi my 15 year old to the doctor's aoffice for an appointment at 3:00. The field trip (which included 300 of my closest 1st and 2nd grade students) was to the Lexington Philharmonic's Tribute to Kentucky Heritage. (Yes, I attended the symphony with over 300 6 and 7 year olds .. that alone should define love.) To arrive at the Opera House, we had to park 9 blocks away, navigate congestion that can only be described as sardine-ish and herd our small charges on the walk AS a cold front came through dropping the temperature 30 degrees along with about 1 inch of rain. The weather arrived earlier than I, for one, had expected .. so my coat was warmly tucked in my car .. back at school. The congestion was NCAA- produced because my aforementioned Cardinals (along with 7 other teams) were playing at Rupp Arena in downtown Lexington ... strategically located between blocks 3 and 4 on the 9 block trek I previously described. To add anguish to my misery ... every street corner was filled with shady-looking characters offering me lower-level seating to watch my aformentioned beloved Cardinals .. AT BELOW FACE VALUE TICKET PRICES!!
Love dictated that I proceed to the Opera House. I didn't even get to hear the game on radio. Or see it on TV ... it ended while I was in the waiting room of our pediatrician ... trying to avoid breathing the blizzard of respiratory germs being sneezed into the air. The good news is , my beloved Cardinals won, and will play again tomorrow. I am going to be with relatives celebrating my wife's birthday. I've given somethought as to why, and the answer is love.
Love is ... my 6 year old daughter bragging to her friends that "my daddy can make the funniest noises" while we wait for the orchestra to tune up. At the top of her lungs.
Love is ... my 15 year old and I laughing so hard in the exam room, waiting for the doctor, that the nurse peeked her head in to see what was going on.
Love is ... rooting for your school ... when your kids know that you root more for them.
Love is ... amazing. And from God. It's way too easy to dismiss a choice as a "no-brainer" ... kids always trump sports ... except that in real life, most of us miss that some of the time. I can't choose to love consistently or realsitically apart from dwelling within the kingdom of God. March Madness only provides a temptation for me to be selfish once a year ... but there is no day or week that a thousand other possibilities don't emerge to attract me to self-indulgence. To entice me to act un-lovingly. But in the maelstrom of self-centered opportunitites, God speaks. From within. And says "I love you."
You want to know what love is? It's not a 43 year old dad listening to Beethoven instead of "Go Cards!" .... it's a 6 year old daughter at the end of the day, embracing a far-less-than-perfect man .... forgiving his mistakes and hugging his neck. "I love you."
Labels: children, Love, selfishness
