Childhood Wins

July 21, 2008 at 6:16 pm · Filed under Childhood

I’ve always heard that one route to finding your life’s passion is looking back on your childhood and taking inventory of early interests and talents. In fact, I just heard Gary Hoover address a crowd, saying that he read Fortune in the 7^th grade and already was mesmerized by the makings of the retail world. Hence, years later, he predicts superstore stature for his bookstore and sells out to Barnes and Noble for millions. The CEO of Patagonia, Yvon Chouinard, appears to have been anti-establishment in the womb, thus driving his pioneering vision for sustainable business practices later in his life.

I look back to my younger days, and I see a tomboy who got upset when she didn’t win. From kicking out my next door neighbor when she beat me in cards to being upset if I didn’t win the weekly creative contest as a fourth grader, I remember wanting to win. And though my mom tried to teach me that “you can’t always be the winner, honey,” the reputation has lived on. I realized this, because at age 44, in a completely inconsequential 3.0 USTA tennis match this week I got a real charge from winning. I’m not exactly sure why, but I suppose I can blame it on my youth.

What I’m not sure about, however, is what this sequence tells me about who I am today. Maybe it tells me I am a dork because I still get in a bad mood when I lose pretty much anything, even a bet with my husband. Or perhaps it says my will to win doesn’t decline with age; it actually increases. Much like how we get way too upset when our alma mater’s football or basketball team loses. Not that I’m still bitter about UNC losing rather embarassingly to Kansas in the Final Four this year……

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Fireworks

July 7, 2008 at 6:16 pm · Filed under Childhood

I have seen some impressive fireworks over the years, the best of which was the display in Boston. Watching the bright lights beside the Charles River, alongside the tunes of the Boston Pops, is an event you want to see at some point in your life. Even the fireworks in Seattle, which I comfortable viewed from my perch on Queen Anne hill, are quite memorable. In comparison, those which I witnessed beside the Payette Lake this year in McCall, Idaho, weren’t quite as splendid. However, I also got to watch a certain 4 -year-old jump up and down for an entire hour, filled with the utmost excitement over something he’d never seen before. When asked about his most exciting moment during a weekend of boating, hiking, biking, swimming and making new friends, without hesitation, he answered: “The fireworks!”

During these days of foreclosures, high gasoline prices, criticism of political candidates, and other depressing news, I am uplifted by the optimism and innocence of a 4-year old. If only I could view the world through his eyes more often, I’d see a big happy face about 99% of the time.

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