Thursday, November 01, 2007

Yearning

Today while at lunch, I saw a heartbroken little girl on the street, crying to her parents that she had "to go get it!" She was all teary, redfaced determination. I could tell by her parents' response that she had left something very important behind at one of their earlier stops and just now noticed it. I don't know if it was a pacifier or a blanket or a doll, but boy, she wanted it sooo bad, and her parents seemed quite sure it was lost to her forever.

This scene touched me so because, kiddo, I know how you feel. No feeling is as motivating, enduring and consuming as wanting what we don't have. And then there's the heartbreak of having to accept that we can't ever have it.

That poor little girl learned a tough lesson today. And as I get older and watch more dreams recede into the distance, I feel more, not less, like her.