What I Learned, in a Closet, from My 3-Year Old Son
This is the moment! This one! Here! Now! Be present to it!
One morning, 25 years ago, I found myself standing in my closet, madly searching for clean clothes in a last minute attempt to pack before yet another business trip, when I noticed my 3-year old son, Jesse, standing in the entrance. In one hand he held a small plastic wand, in the other, a plastic bottle of soapy water.
“Dada,” he said, looking up at me. “Do you have time to catch my bubbles?”
Time? Whoa! It stopped. And so did I. At that moment, it made absolutely no difference whether or not I caught my plane; I could barely catch my breath. The only thing that was happening in that moment was my son and the soulful look of longing in his eyes.
For the next five minutes, all we did was play — him blowing bubbles, me catching. His need was completely satisfied — his need for connection, his need for love, his need for knowing, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that his dada was there for him and everything was perfect just the way it was.
Jesse is 28 now, married and recently bought his own house. He works for Google. His bubbles are digital. But his deepest needs — and mine — are very much the same: love, connection, and enjoyment of the moment.
