21 Things .14

Role Models and Wonder

We all have our role models. Some of them are close mentors and family members and continue to influence us our entire lives, others we admire from afar or are only influenced by for a season. Whatever the case, we can conclude that role models have a lasting impact.

As a six year old still new to the school playground, I remember a group of Grade 6 kids who'd talk to little me and sometimes walk me home from school. Their attention made me feel so special and I thought it would be grand to be their age!

Then Grade 6 came along and I definitely didn't feel as grown up as I'd envisioned them. In fact, its one of those years that I find most difficult to recall. It was a great year but not strikingly so.

Then there were the years following in which I looked up to specific camp and youth leaders. Some I saw weekly, others only for a short week, but whatever the case, I was always struck by their confidence and willingness to include me in their lives. 

Having now served in many camp and leadership roles, all I can say is that its very different. Where was my confidence? I wondered. Why was I so tired? 

Don't get me wrong; such leadership experiences were wonderful but I never did feel like I thought my leaders had felt.

There were also countless times that I watched The Sound of Music (a favourite), and it got me wondering with anticipation what it would be like to finally be able to sing that I was "sixteen turning on seventeen! 

Again, definitely not the same! 

You're probably noticing a theme here :)

~

It was a painfully slow day at work today and my mind was muddled with summer allergies and the doldrums of a hot, stuffy room. Then a young family walked in and the memories I have just been describing rushed over me. It was the kids that sparked them. They came rushing into the museum ahead of their parents, practically running with excitement and saying hello to me before I had a chance to greet them.

"So you've come to have a look at the museum?" I said, trying to emerge from my foggy brain.

"Yes! We're so excited!" the boy exclaimed. He was about nine years old. "We love mines - I mean, we love learning about history, and since mining is a part of that, we like it too!" 

I took "we" to mean his sister and him.

Kindred spirits! My heart warmed as I talked briefly with this brother and sister. Not often do you meet kids who walks into a museum like its an amusement park!

After their parents had paid I opened the old cash register to put away the change. "Cha-ching." 

The siblings were peeking up over the counter and they gasped in unison at the sound. "Wow!" the girl said softly, "You're so lucky!" 

You're so lucky.

Those were the words that really struck me. I saw my younger self in her place, watching a young lady put cash into an old historic cash register and admiring her and her job. 

I definitely didn't feel "lucky" today, but her words gave me a new perspective. It made me realize that although the world and the unknown continue to get bigger as I grow, I get the opportunity to be in a position I would have admired as a young girl. Today I was reminded of the wonder and expectancy of childhood as well as the fact that role models don't often know that they are role models and seldom do they feel like one, and I'm thankful for that.

P.S. Only one year to go until I can sing Taylor Swifts "22" :P