No Experience Required…
There are so many people out there sailing around the world who started with no experience. They picked a coastal city, bought a sailboat, and set sail on a new life full of adventure…no experience required. At least that’s what they say. Based on my few experiences on the water, that idea sounds terrifying. But I’m a bit of a chicken, some would call it being conservative, but let’s be honest, some people are just fearless and some are not. I fall into the later category. That doesn’t mean I’m not going to cast off one day, but I would like to know what I’m doing first. Taking classes, getting certified, practicing, etc. these are all things I plan to do to prepare for this great adventure. Getting experience even though it’s not required.
It’s the same with other life changing decisions and events as well…no experience required. Having kids for example, that’s terrifying. Isn’t it crazy that we can bring children into the world to rear and raise with no training, no class, no certificate! Of course, most of us did some studying and we took a few classes, mostly on the delivery itself, because let’s face it that was the most terrifying part of this whole thing right? Giving birth. Not. Even. Close! We are allowed to bring these precious creatures home from the hospital without even a learner’s permit.
Somehow we muddle through and before you know it they are teenagers and at this point it’s all you can do to make it through the day without a three car pileup on the interstate. I keep wondering, how I’m going to come out of this alive? Why didn’t I take more time to prepare for parenting? How could I have done all of this better?
Somehow we do survive and then there are the amazing days, the ones no book or class could ever explain or teach. The moments your child confirms that you have done a good job, a great job, raising them. It might be an observation of a insightful interaction they have with a teacher or adult, or seeing them help their sibling or classmate through a tough day, or an unexpected kindness they show to you. In this moment you know you did it, you raised a person, a good, kind, compassionate, inquisitive person…no experience required.
